A Thug Life of Loving You
by psychosocialwai
Summary: Petra found an old journal of a deceased Survey Corps soldier while cleaning the dusty rooms in the HQ. The journal was telling about a life of being a thug, with Levi's name in every page. Three days in the castle would be so significant for the Levi Unit, with Hanji's intervention, just when Erwin arrived with the troop. (Fluff)
1. The Small Notebook

**Author's Note: ****Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**Prologue**

Levi Ackerman and the Special Operations Squad were ordered by Commander Erwin Smith to prepare the Survey Corps Headquarters in three days for the whole troop. Upon arrival, the corporal asked each of his elite member to do specific tasks. In a balmy midnight, he took a rest on top of the castle while reminiscing the past expeditions and his damned thug life.

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"This is our chance, trust me."

Unforgettable words echoed repeatedly in his mind as he looked up at the vast, starry sky. Levi Ackerman sat alone at the brick floor on top of the castle–the Survey Corps Head Quarters. He reminisced the words that were spoken by his old friend Farlan Church before they joined the Survey Corps.

The night wind softly brushed his black, undercut hair. He looked very casual. No cravat, not in uniform. He just wanted to feel normal like before even just for a night; a thug's life above the underground. He was holding a knife in his right hand which he often used for revenge or self-defense. He gazed on the sharp thing while playing it between his fingers as memories came flashing at the back of his mind.

It was a couple of years since he, Farlan and Isabel Magnolia joined the military and his first encounter with the soldiers of the Survey Corps wasn't all a warm welcome. After all that had happened to his two friends, he moved on with his own way of coping as months and years gone by with new subordinates. That's why he became relatively close with Hanji Zoe since none of his friends were left alive after his first expedition. Well, Hanji just used to get along with him though he has rude and harsh attitude.

Though he was considered as the Humanity's Strongest Soldier, he still lacks teamwork. Even so, he could still manage to get along with the most controversial Special Operations Squad (for having an only female member) who were hand-picked by him.

"I've searched for you everywhere, Levi Heichou." a feminine voice suddenly came up. She eventually walked forward to come near him, and there she stood with her military boots.

"What do you need, Petra?" the corporal asked as he turned his head to see the only female in his squad. His facial expression wanted to tell her that she disturbed his moment of solitude. He quickly hid the knife that he's been playing to prevent questions.

She looked at him with admiration and with all respect, she replied. "I came here to report."

He looked at her, expecting to hear a positive report as he remained in his comfortable position.

Petra took all day to finish the task that she was entrusted, and he was a bit impressed that she still look neat and wonderful. He expected to see a tired Petra, in which she would never show herself ugly in front of the man she truly admires. For that, she fixed herself well before she searched him all over the HQ. Auruo even teased her when he saw her getting busy in front of the mirror in the middle of the grand staircase.

"I finished cleaning the rooms on the upper left wing and the last room on the right. It's all neat and proper, not even a speck of dust could be spotted. I assure you." She said.

"Well done. How about the others?"

"They are all asleep. I'm the last one to finish cleaning. And by the way…" she got something from her pocket. "I found something…and I think you should check this out."

Levi took a glance on the thing that Petra pulled from her pocket. She handed it to him and upon seeing it, he arched an eyebrow. She barely noticed it but kept silent.

"A notebook. Where did you get this?" Levi asked as he scanned the old cover of a small notebook.

"While I was removing the dusty mattresses on a certain bed, it slipped and fell on the floor." Petra replied, as honest as she could be.

Levi flipped the first page and saw a name that made him feel frown.

"Is something wrong, Sir?" the lady soldier asked as she gained all the courage to join him sit on the floor. However, she chose to sit a bit distant from him to maintain some space.

She already read the whole content of the notebook. Right at that moment, she was dying to know the answers of the many questions that's been boggling her mind. It's a personal journal of a female soldier. She was longing to know the significance of that person to the corporal. Many times Levi was mentioned on the entries, every single page was his name written addressing him as big bro. However, he never mentioned that he had siblings or a little sister.

"This notebook is Isabel's." he answered as he closed the cover. "She was respectively one of my very first squad teammates."

Petra got surprised when she heard his revelation but she kept her mouth shut. She couldn't find the right words to say about it. Unexpectedly, Levi continued to tell more about the notebook.

"It was our first expedition in the Survey Corps back then. We all stayed in a filthy castle for a night to rest."

He flipped the pages to play with it while talking, "That expedition doesn't go well as planned though. Heavy rain unexpectedly poured out like hell on our first test run of the scouting formation. And we're like insects struggling in the open. Tch. Those shitty days."

She couldn't imagine that it was happening; her commanding officer was telling her something about his past. And it's about a girl named Isabel and his first expedition.

"It looks like your first expedition is beyond terrible."

He looked up again on the starry sky, "Do you know what a fucking disaster is?" he asked.

Petra stared at him, uncomprehending.

"It's when you're the only fucking survivor." He said, trying to hide the pain in his masculine voice.

She remained silent. She knew he doesn't need any advice, he just wanted someone to listen. She's been waiting for this moment for a long time. She dreamt of it to happen. For years, she has been wishing it to every shooting star she's seen in the night sky, and it came true.

"The first test of the formation wasn't only beyond terrible, it's beyond disaster. Its failure caused more than the usual number of casualties. I even lost them during a titan attack."

"Them?" she asked to clarify who he was pertaining to.

"Isabel and Farlan." He confirmed.

"I swear it's not the corporal's nature to tell a joke. No. Not even this time." she commented. She just couldn't believe that Levi couldn't able to save his two comrades from titans.

"Do I look joking on you, Petra?" he asked as he looked at her with a serious facial expression.

She shook her head with all disagreement. "You're so strong, Sir. I just couldn't believe that you lost two comrades from a titan."

'_Titans.'_ Levi mentally corrected her. _'I lost them from titans.'_ But he just snorted slightly and said, "You're spouting nonsense, Petra. It's time to sleep." He shifted the topic, not wanting to talk more about his fallen friends.

Petra gasped air before she spilled her thoughts, "I want to hear more about your past expeditions, Sir."

He thought for a second and answered, "You should take a rest, stubborn head." He tapped her head lightly. "We still have tons of shits to do tomorrow. I am planning to give punishments to the three sleeping beauties."

"But why?" she asked curiously.

"Slacking their asses off." He replied flatly.

"Oh, I see." she said, though she wanted to tell him that it wasn't her comrades' fault. She just reported because she found something important for her corporal to know. She stood from the floor anyway. "Good night, Sir."

Before she turned her back, Levi spoke with a calm voice. "Thank you for giving this to me. Good night, Petra." He said as he raised the small old notebook.

Petra gave him a sweet smile and left. She wanted to giggle but it's not the right thing to do so she just smiled. A genuine smile of love and admiration.

Levi felt strange. Though it wasn't the first time he witnessed Petra's smile, he knew that the smile she gave him was intended only for him. He then thought that making people smile by appreciating their effort and loyalty could bring him some good feels. Then, he gazed upon the notebook and started reading the entries. He never knew that Isabel kept a personal journal with her, most likely a compilation of random thoughts and dreams of the future.

Early in the morning, Levi opened the windows of the castle. He even dragged the door of each of his squad's room to open their windows and create some exaggerated noise to disturb their sleep. He couldn't blame them though. He was aware of the men's exhausting tasks and they haven't even had enough rest for the past days. So instead of pouring cold water on their faces to wake them up, he just made it as simple as that.

When he entered Petra's room, she wasn't there which surprised him a little. It's only 5:30, he thought. He assumed that she slept for around 2:00 last night and he was pretty sure that she has no insomnia. She was normal than any soldier in the corps. She wasn't like him. He knew how strong she has become but she's still a woman. It's not that he was degrading the women population, he's just thinking about the fact that male soldiers were, of course, stronger than women. Unless the woman is half harmless titan, half human.

He opened the window and sunlight entered the tidy plain room. There on the corner of the bed was Petra's backpack with all her belongings, beside it was her white button-down, her jacket and a small dark green notebook. His curiosity rose to the highest level. After three fateful seconds, he sat at the edge of the bed and got the tempting notebook. He thought it's an achievement report so it's really interesting to read. Upon flipping the first page, Petra entered the room singing a love song while drying her light ginger colored hair with a towel. She was looking downward as the towel almost covered her face. She stopped when she sensed someone and saw Levi sitting on her bed, and it almost made her jumped off the floor.

"Heichou!" she exclaimed. The towel on her head fell above her shoulders. She was wearing a black tank top, her military white pants and boots. She just finished taking a bath but decided to leave her top uniform so she went back to her room to fix herself.

Levi threw the notebook on the bed and stood up.

"You got up early."

"Uhm, yes. I already prepared some tea, too."

"Good." he said and left.

Petra rushed to her bed and got her notebook and flipped the pages. It's her personal journal where she's been keeping all her reports and narratives about her expeditions. She put it on her chest and sighed until she realized what she looked like. She suddenly felt embarrassed because Levi saw her that way. For her, she looks messy and disorganized. She thought that it might not look good in the eyes of her commanding officer. She immediately grabbed her white button-down that was folded beside her things. She removed her tank top so she could able to move more comfortable when her jacket is on. While putting on the buttons of her sleeves, Levi went back to her room without knocking which made her scream because she mistakenly thought that it's the others.

Levi heard her screaming and accidentally looked at her with his eyes slightly wide. She immediately turned her back on him in embarrassment and she felt her blood rising up her cheeks. He pretended not to see anything and got the broomstick that he just left a while ago. He then walked out apathetically and closed the door.

"Heichou saw it, didn't he?" she asked herself repeatedly, tears started to form at the edge of her eyes in humiliation.

Suddenly, Auruo knocked once and opened the door to ask her why Levi came out of her room and why she screamed. Unfortunately, she threw her heavy backpack on his face before he managed to step on the room. He fell on the floor outside and she immediately slammed the door close.

"Pervert!" she yelled.

Levi heard it from the outside and felt guilty of himself. The good thing was that he made the pretension quite good when he saw her with the half unbuttoned uniform revealing her inner garment. Nevertheless, even if it costs his life, he would bury with him the truth that he saw something quite embarrassing on her part. Nobody's going to know about it, and he assumed that Petra wouldn't tell it to anyone either. She was too embarrassed of him and it was her first time to encounter that kind of humiliation. Well, he does as well. He always respects women. He knew he does.

They took breakfast on the dining hall as Petra prepared the tea that she made earlier. Everybody was silent and dead air was hovering on the ceiling and on the walls of the entire hall. Levi took a sip on his tea cup while the four soldiers were just looking on their cups placed on the table. Auruo was frowning and pissed of Petra because of what she did. His nose bled when her heavy backpack hit his face.

After a minute of silence, the corporal finally spoke up.

"I reckon that the three of you didn't report last night."

The three men looked at each other until Erdo do the honor of apologizing for the group.

"We're asking for apology, Heichou. We admit our negligence of report." He said to lessen the tension.

They actually didn't thought of reporting the task after they finished doing it so they slept when they're done. It was a puzzle for them why the corporal has to confront them when first of all, he didn't tell them to do so. They wished that he just forgot to tell them but it's still not the point. And second, it seemed that Petra was exempted from the confrontation.

"I consider giving you a simple punishment for that. It's the first time so it will be unforgettable." Levi said and took another sip from his tea.

Gunther, Auruo and Erdo gulped and sweat dropped down their cheeks.

For Levi, simple wasn't the standard of simplicity. It was the standard of an Ackerman.


	2. Simple Punishment

**Author's Note: So, I watched the series ****again. **

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. Enjoy reading!**

**P.S. If you don't know Isabel Magnolia (I mentioned her in Chapter 1), you could read her in the Birth of Levi Manga along with Farlan Church–a nice, cool guy. They were Levi's friends in the underground capital.**** Just in case if you still don't know.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"I really couldn't believe I'm doing this shit." Auruo complained as he scooped the horse dung by a teaspoon. He needed to collect all of it on the horse stable, put it in a sack and transfer it to the bushes for fertilizer that were planted on the other side of the castle.

"You should be grateful it's only horse shit. How about mine? We can exchange tasks if you want." Erdo said as he passed by his comrade. He was holding a toothbrush in his right hand and a pale of water on the left. He was to clean and scrub the whole castle floor with just a toothbrush. No alternatives. No replacements.

"No thanks. How about Gunther? I noticed him back and forth to the well and inside the castle all this time." Auruo asked curiously.

"He's upstairs going back down the well to fetch water. He has to fill all the barrels and containers using a single tea cup. He is not allowed to bring them with him outside because it should be filled upstairs and not to be move in its place." Erdo explained clearly.

"How troublesome. It's hell." Auruo complained under his breath.

As the three men were busy doing their new tasks, Petra watched them from the window. That morning wasn't all the same. She still thought of the scenario earlier. The corporal didn't even say a word to her during the confrontation nor before they left the dining hall. She doesn't know if she offended him when she screamed. After she threw her heavy backpack to Auruo's face and slammed the door, she realized that her scream and reaction when Levi entered the room sounded more terrified and overacting than her first approach of titans during her first expedition. What if the corporal thought that she's too naïve of dealing with simple mishaps? She took a deep breath, went back to her room and laid flat on her bed with throbbing head and heavy eyelids. Her neck was itchy and she started to sneeze.

It was a great privilege for her to be one of Levi's hand-picked soldiers. Assuming that the letter she wrote a week ago already arrived in their house, she expected that her father would be delighted to know the good news that she's becoming closer to the corporal. However, everytime Levi strikes in her mind, her stomach seemed to crumble like butterflies were trying to escape from her stomach. While thinking of random things, she felt drowsy and didn't realize that she fell asleep. Considering the fact that she slept at around 3:00 and woke up at 4:30, her brain and body reached its limit like a battery out of charge. She left her door open.

"These fucking documents are all shit. I'm wasting my time." Levi self-talked as he arranged the documents and put it on the drawer of a small cabinet beside his clean and tidy bed.

Earlier at breakfast after he gave the corresponding simple punishments to the three men, he went straight to his room as he ignored Petra on the doorway. Though he felt like talking to her and apologizing about what had happened earlier, he took hold of himself and walked pass through the narrow corridor. Now, he decided to leave his room and stride on the dusty hallway to check his men around.

"Tch. A sea of dust. How ridiculous."

While taking a tour on the castle, he noticed Petra's room and the door was left open. He peeped in to see if someone's there, hoping that he could at least read the notebook that was being interrupted earlier. When he took a sight inside, he saw Petra sleeping. Her left arm was covering her eyes. He remained standing there, arms crossed over his chest while his back was leaning against the door, as he watched her abdomen rise and fall due to her deep breathing. She looked exhausted of everything.

She has done enough to clean the former soldiers' room on the left wing and the last one on the right. That last room was Isabel's and it's good that Petra reported last night. Levi was able to know that his old friend has her secret journal and he realized that he's so mean of many people around him, and at the same time, cool. But for his opinion, they deserved it right for threatening him and causing him trouble along with his comrades. He also received some practical advices from the journal which were all addressed to him, but it made him thought for a million times if he would do it or not.

He wandered his narrow eyes on the room and saw the small dark green notebook placed on the table beside the bed. His gaze didn't leave the tempting thing, it seems like talking to him saying, _'Come on and get me, get me. Baby, I'm yours. Come on and get me.'_

Levi just found himself walking straight to where the notebook was. He again took a glance at the lady soldier who was deeply asleep.

"Sleeping beauty is waiting for her fucking prince to wake her up." He commented under his breath and then got a hold of the small dark green tempter and flipped its pages. He started on the last entry and read the content. It's quite long.

_Entry #54_

_We were ordered by Commander Erwin to go ahead of the HQ and prepare it for the Survey Corps who will arrive in three days. Along the way, we encountered two titans and they're quite tall. Levi Heichou said that those were abnormal type. Erdo shoot his cable on the 14m class' back and I assisted him. It was a risky one though. We both took it down as Gunther and Auruo took care of the other. I hope Heichou noticed how I improved my skills and intuition. I'm really trying my best since I'm the only female in the group._

_And so, when we arrived in the castle, we were instructed to clean since the place is oh-so dirty and a sea of dust awaits us inside. I already expected the cleaning because Heichou is a clean-freak._

Upon reading it, Levi stopped halfway through and stared on Petra with twitched eyebrows. She just called him a 'clean-freak'.

"You've got nerves, Petra." He said as if she was able to hear what he was saying.

After a few seconds of getting the hang out of it, he continued on the next page.

_To be honest, I didn't enjoy cleaning the rooms in the left wing. There were many strange insects and even snakes which really frighten__ed__ me__. __When I moved to clean the last room on the right, I went to see a small old notebook. It fell on the floor when I removed the dusty mattress out of the bed. I got curious so I picked it and read the content._

The corporal's eyebrow arched slightly upon reading it. _'So Petra already knows it. Fuck!'_ he said at the back of his mind.

_The entries are impressive and the advices are very practical. But something that kills me to know is the owner's relationship with Levi Heichou. The owner __tells something of __a__ thug__ life in the underground city. And every single page of the notebook has Heichou's name written on it and what more? He was being addressed as big bro. Wow! I never knew that he has a little sister. __Then__, I was surprised when he told me that it was Isabel's but it wasn't clear if she's a little sister or what. I have faith that I will know who she was... someday... when Heichou decided to fully open up with me. I can't wait for that moment to come._

_So, to tell the truth, I suddenly felt bad when he didn't allow me to know more of his expedition experiences. I just wanted to know him more. But at least I received a pat on my head and his hand smells good. He even said 'Good night, Petra.'_

_Oh well, that's all for today. I feel so tired. I hope I won't catch a cold or fever. I have to get up early to prepare Heichou's tea._

_Petra_

Levi closed the notebook as his curiosity was satisfied upon reading the last entry. Complex thoughts started to sync on his mind as he walked out of the room silently. He took a tour of himself around the castle to distract him from what he just read. He checked the three poor men doing their punishment.

"How's the shit?" he asked Auruo who was starting to get sweaty and stingy.

"I'm starting to smell like horse dung, Heichou." he answered.

Levi nodded. "Make a shitty report of it later." he sarcastically said and left.

While the corporal checked Erdo who was scrubbing the kitchen floor, Hanji arrived at the castle along with three of her subordinates. She cheerfully got out of her horse and head to the well to get some water for her thirsty horse. When she eyed Gunther going back inside with a cup of water, she greeted him.

"Hello, Gunther. It's nice to see you…with a tea cup?" Curiosity was drawn on her face as she nailed her gaze on the thing.

Gunther greeted back and proceeded upstairs. He was so focused on his task. Hanji scratched the back of her neck and blinked. She proceeded to fetch a pale of water until she noticed Auruo who was on the stable busy putting shit on a sack with a teaspoon. She came near him and greeted.

"Auruo! What are you going to do with those shits?"

Auruo looked at her in exhaustion. He looked pitiful. "H-hey there, Hanji-san. It's Levi Heichou's punishment for not reporting on him last night."

She blinked several times upon hearing Auruo's answer, and then she laughed. Afterwards, she gave him some good advices on how to live up with Levi's expectations. She then went inside the castle when she finished quenching her horse. She headed right straight to the corridor. She's looking for Levi but when she passed by Petra's room, she took a look inside.

"Ohh…" she reacted, "Why is she sleeping this sunny morning?"

She went near her and touched her forehead, assuming the possibility that Petra was feeling sick.

"What the hell? Her fever is so high!" Hanji exclaimed as she immediately pulled her hands from Petra's hot forehead. "I wonder if Levi knows it. Hmm."

She searched for Levi in his room but it was locked, only to find him with Erdo on the dining hall. When she saw the second-in-command of the squad, she felt sorry for him.

"Are you torturing your squad with these punishments?" Hanji told the corporal.

Levi remained seated comfortably on the chair, in his usual place, the table's edge. "Nothing beats discipline. Irresponsibility is a crap word in my squad." He answered in a monotone voice. "You're early." He added.

"You even have the guts to sit comfortably while your lady is burning like hell. Wow, Levi. Irresponsibility is really a crap to your squad." Hanji said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" the corporal looked at her, trying to figure out what she was saying.

Hanji snorted. "You're unbelievable. Petra has very high fever. Aren't you aware? I hope she's not yet convulsing in her room."

Levi got surprised on what she told him. Even Erdo didn't expect that to happen. He just thought that she's also doing some task somewhere in the castle. Actually, it was Petra's first time to feel sick since she joined the Survey Corps. It's so good that Hanji arrived early to discover her high fever.

The eyeglassed lady soldier and the corporal went to Petra's room to check her condition.

"This girl is on fire, you know?" she commented as she put a wet towel on Petra's forehead.

"I don't have any fucking idea." Levi replied while staring on the lady soldier as he stood beside the bed. "She didn't tell me."

"Would she?" Hanji said. "You might punish her if she does."

"Tch." He tensed.

"What happened yesterday?"

"We just brought down two abnormal titans on our way. When we arrived here, I ordered them to clean the whole shitty castle."

"I see. She might be over-fatigued and had caught an allergy from dust. Look at the tiny red spots on her neck and cheeks."

Levi scanned the parts that Hanji mentioned. His sight went down to Petra's chest which reminded him of what had happened earlier. Levi's cheeks flushed in the slightest way. Hanji noticed that behind her intelligent glasses, that seemed to evolve into a magnifying glass, since it's a one in a million chance to witness the grumpy young man in that way. There was something wrong in his amygdala.

"You know Levi…" she patted his back, "You're really unbelievable." She said as a grin spread on her lips. "I'll go get some rest. See you later." Then, she left.

Several hours passed by and Petra was awaken. With her blurry and dizzy vision, she saw a figure of a man in an undercut.

"Levi Heichou." She said in a low and soft voice.

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**Author's Note: Thank you for being with me on the first chapter. Let me know if the story is good or very boring or irritating or whatever.**


	3. Literally Dirty

**Author's Note: ****Thank you for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I ****do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

Petra's hand was held by the man in undercut beside her bed.

"How are you feeling, baby?" he asked with all concern and care.

Upon hearing the last word, sudden realization shot her mind so she pushed her back against the bed and pulled her hand away. She already knew that it wasn't Levi watching over her but the imitator that she truly was at odds from the very start.

"You smell like shit, Auruo." Petra commented in an irritated voice.

The Levi-imitator smirked. "I thought you won't figure it out."

"Get out of my room!" She demanded while grooves started to form between her eyebrows.

Auruo started to feel hurt. With a frown, he replied. "Why are you so mean to me, Petra? You see, I'm just concern about you. You're sick and I want to-"

"Don't!" she yelled, covering her nose with the blanket.

He leaned closer to comfort her but when he was about to touch her, she was fierce.

"You piece of horse shit!" she yelled as her smooth eyebrows were twitched in irritation. She jumped off her bed and ran outside the room. Auruo didn't able to react immediately because of the sudden motion. While on the narrow corridor, Petra clasped her mouth with her hand and sweat started to form on her forehead. Her sight was spinning and she couldn't walk normally because of her dizziness. She already bumped her head and shoulders several times on the walls because she couldn't maintain her balance.

Levi was walking along the same corridor and was currently thinking of the numerous practical advices that Isabel has written for him.

…_It must be a mistake to think that big bro is a gentleman but well, who knows if he could be one when he gets older. So! This is how a gentleman, at least to a kind of guy like my big bro, should do during unexpected situations (as if I'm telling it right in his face):_

_First: Helping someone means a lot, just like what you did to me. Though you're a thug, killing people isn't the only thing that you could do in your whole life, well I suppose. Be gentle as possible. Please big bro!_

_Second: Stop being so compulsive about things. Not all things are dirty or filthy or gross or whatsoever. Try to consider some earthly stuff__s__. _

_This is enough for now, I think. I'm kind of sleepy. That blond commander really gets on my nerves and I think big bro does also. Tomorrow will be another training with the assholes._

Levi was overthinking and he started to imagine situations in each advice that Isabel wrote for him. When he suddenly saw Petra bumping her head and shoulders to both sides of the narrow corridor and was about to collapse, he rushed to catch her. He just made it in time before she fell on the floor. Unfortunately, before he was about to say a word, something foul blended in the air around them. Petra puked on his clothes as she rested on his chest. Blame Auruo's stinky horse shit smell, her nose was too sensitive when she's sick, causing her to vomit gastric acid from her stomach. It's not her fault though, but she felt cursed.

"Petra! What the fuck are you doing!?" Levi exclaimed while he still held the lady soldier who was puking on his neat, proper and fragrant white sleeves. He was lying with his elbows against the floor to support his back as she rested on top of him, groggy and gross.

His clothes have already been soaked with the foul odor, yellowish acid. Auruo ran across the corridor only to find out his commanding officer in a horrified fatal expression, and he couldn't move a muscle from his position. Whereas, Petra finally collapsed and fell unconscious on her commanding officer's chest, she's not even aware that she made his whole body disgustingly stinky. Now, Levi felt cursed too.

When Erdo, who was scrubbing the floor nearby, heard that Auruo was hesitating and in panic, he took a look at them. His eyes widen in surprise and disgust when he saw what had happened to Levi's clothes and Petra sleeping over her disgusting vomit. And so, he left the toothbrush on the wet floor and assisted them in their situation. Despite of Petra's mess, he carried her so Levi could get up.

"Care to explain this damn whole thing, Auruo?" Levi said after getting the hang out of the situation, giving his subordinate a sharp glare that was as deadly as his blades.

Auruo dropped a sweat. "Anou... Levi Heichou... I asked her how does she feel but she ordered me to go out of her room. Because I am concern about her, I didn't leave her. To my surprise, she yelled at me and ran outside. And that's-... eek!"

Levi grabbed his collar even though he's way too smaller than him.

"H-heichou." Erdo tried to stop his commanding officer, who prepared himself to kill Auruo if necessary.

At the corner of the hallway stood Hanji who was secretly watching and listening to the conversation as she laughed with herself.

_'Petra is one lucky girl to __stain__ the clean-freak's clothes. I'll better make some report for it.'_

"Hanji-san, why are you laughing alone?" Gunther appeared out of the blue.

_'Did she finally lose her sanity?'_ he asked himself as he looked at her with a kind of creepy feeling.

Hanji immediately grabbed his collar cheerfully and stared at him with an evil grin on her face. "You should be aware of Levi's taste of women and how he cares for the sick. It could help you know him more as his subordinate. Good luck, Gunther."

She turned her back and walked away smirking evilly. Gunther was left on his feet analyzing the words she told him. While deciphering it, he heard a yell and the walls were slightly shaken from the other corner so he went to see what's happening. It was Levi getting angry to Auruo whose face was pushed against the wall by the corporal's right boots.

Gunther rushed to stop his commanding officer but before he said anything, Levi gazed at him with his eyes sharper than any two edged blade that could kill ten titans in one blow.

"What is happening here, Erdo?" Gunther asked his comrade.

Erdo shook his head. "I really don't know the exact reason but what you are witnessing right now is one sure thing..." they both looked at the sick lady on his arms.

"Petra's fault." the two said in synchrony.

"Tell me, Auruo. Who's the fucking bastard who allowed you to leave the shit on the stable?" Levi asked in rage.

Auruo has tears flowing from his eyes because of the fear of losing his life from the hands of the one he imitates. With a shaking voice, as his face almost buried on the brick wall, he answered.

"N-nobody told me to do so... I left my task in my own will because... I deeply care for... aack!"

Levi kicked him in the head that made his nose and forehead bled. "Lame." He said.

"Is he jealous?" Gunther whispered to Erdo.

The second in command shrugged innocently.

"And you two? What the hell are you doing here?"

The two men looked at each other and Gunther took all the courage to reply. "I've noticed that Auruo wasn't on the stable and Erdo hasn't cleaned the room where the barrels are. So, I looked for them." he reasoned out. It's really an alibi. He heard from two of Hanji's subordinates who happened to pass by the barrel's room that Petra was sick so he left his task to check her condition. As much as Petra cares for her teammates, so are they towards her.

"If you have complains in your head, tell me so I could give you options."

The three men's sweat dropped. Options are dangerous.

"What the fuck are you standing there? Back to your tasks!"

Erdo looked at Petra, she was unconscious. And if he goes back to his task that moment, where would he suppose to put her? On the floor? Give her to Levi? He couldn't think properly. Suddenly, one of Hanji's subordinates was passing by them. Since Levi has the gross yellow thing on his clothes, he wouldn't be able to carry her so he ordered the soldier to bring Petra back on her room. Then, the three pitiful men went back to their simple punishments with their shoulders down.

The corporal went straight to the bathroom disgusted of what had just happened. He couldn't blame Petra because there's nothing he could do about her current condition. He considered her allergies and thought that she might have sensitive sense of smell when sick which is 100 percent true. However, there's no point of blaming Auruo since he only expressed his care and concern for her. Though that reason really irritates him until now, he knew that Auruo was just brave enough to show his love for Petra. That was one of the things that he couldn't possibly express in words in front of a woman even if he dies.

He removed his clothes and there appears his hot, built up body due to his extensive use of the 3D Maneuver Gear. Though it's out of his will to take another bath because the water was getting cold due to the climate, but he did. He started to self-talk as he soaped his chest intensively. He should get rid of the dirt. Having a compulsive tendency was quite difficult to deal with.

Meanwhile, in Petra's room...

"Thank you, Moblit. You can now take a bath." Hanji told her subordinate whom she ordered to pass by the corridor intentionally. Poor subordinate, he got some of the yellow thing in his uniform.

Hanji knew that Levi wouldn't carry Petra because his clothes were soiled, and he ordered the three pitiful men to go back to their tasks immediately. She took a deep breath and started to clean her face. After she changed Petra's dirty clothes, she sat on the chair as she watched the poor lady unconsciously lying on her bed. She shook her head and touched her forehead to check if the fever goes down even a little.

After a fateful five minutes in the bathroom (it took him longer than his 'three-minute combat shower'), Levi went out of the shower. He wanted to lecture his subordinates right now about their responsibilities and reasoning ability but he dropped that thought and dressed himself. Wearing another set of his casual white sleeves folded up to his arms, and one of his hundred black pants, he went to Petra's room to check her condition.

"Hey, Levi. If you will rate Petra from 1 to 10, 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest-"

"Shut up, you shit-glassed woman." he said in an irritable manner.

"My, my. You're really mad. It's good you went here. I have to discuss something with my subordinates. You stay with her." she said waving her hand and left the room.

The corporal slammed the door which made Petra awaken. She's a bit dizzy and her stomach growled. Her head pulsed as if her heart was transferred on her skull. She still has high fever in which Hanji was starting to come up with various hypotheses. When Petra realized that Levi was standing by the door, she gazed at him innocently.

"Heichou." she seemed to greet him as she forcefully got up from her back.

"What are you up to?" Levi asked, his facial expression was the usual one.

Petra's mouth was left open. She couldn't figure out what he's asking her. "I don't know what you're talking about." she replied while shaking her head.

"I bet you didn't acquire amnesia after you banged your head to the walls."

Petra was awestruck to what the corporal has said. She couldn't remember that scenario because the only thing that she could recall was when she's driving Auruo out of her room. To verify her commanding officer's statement, she touched her head and felt pain on several areas in the left and more on the right.

Dead air was hovering inside the room as they both stared with each other. Levi mentally recalled Isabel's advice on the notebook.

_I wish to tell big bro that if he__ encounter__s__ an awkward situation such as being alone with a lady, __he__ should try to tell something nice and pleasant. This is really something that I wish to experience from him but he'__s __mean__, oftentimes__._

He stepped his boots on the floor and stood beside her bed. "So, how are you feeling, Petra?"

He sat on the chair the way men used to sit. Petra smirked upon hearing his question which made his eyebrow twitched.

"Is there something funny?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I just remembered Auruo asking the same question earlier. I immediately figured out that it's not you because you don't use to call me baby." She answered smirking. "I feel better than before, but my head really hurts inside and outside of my skull and...I'm hungry."

He maintained his poker face but deep inside, _'Fuck that Auruo. I let him imitate my whole personality, but don't mess the crap of this thing.'_

"Sir," Petra called out, as sweet as she always be. "Thank you for catching me before I fell. I could still recall that...somehow." She smiled at him with all admiration and sincerity.

He just stared at her which made her feel unease. Her words made sense to him; he was reading between the lines. He was always catching her whenever she was falling during missions. Would he take it to a different interpretation? He still recalled Isabel's advice and thought if those would help him this time. What would he tell Petra?

"You puked on me." He mutters. What would anyone expect to hear from Corporal Levi Ackerman? Pleasant, caring, sweet, kind and romantic words are all anonymous in his vocabulary.

There should be a face-palm on Isabel right now if she's still alive.

Petra paused for a second and then she exclaimed in disbelief. "Ehh?!"

Now, she even felt more embarrassed than before. "I couldn't remember that-"

"Tch."

"I'm really sorry from the bottom of my heart!" she exclaimed to end up the tension but she couldn't look at him because humiliation was killing her more than before.

He leaned forward, put his hand on her head and turned it to his face which shocked Petra's whole frail body. Her blood started to rise on her cheeks and her heart beats fast as if it could escape her rib cage at any moment. Their faces were only an inch away from each other. What was the corporal planning to do? She's not yet prepared for a kiss, also, she's still sick and her fever hasn't gone down yet. Her thoughts and expectations made her feel more nervous.

"Do I need your heart?" he asked her, still in their position.

She gulped and sweat started to drop off her chin. She couldn't focus her sight on his intimidating yet seductive stare. Her head hurts due to the banging of walls and her sight started to spin again because of the tension. Unfortunately, she couldn't move any muscle. Too close corporal.

"Answer me, Petra."

If Isabel was still living, she would have hit his head and would tell him that her advice in initiating the talk to a lady wouldn't be that kind of manner.

Her lips seemed so delicate. Never in his whole damned, thug life that he's been so mesmerized with a woman. He started to confirm something within him. The strange feelings when she smiles, her yelling whenever she disapproves of something about his risky actions, her sarcasm and mean attitude towards Auruo, it all made sense to him now. When he was about to press his lips against her delicate lips, Petra fainted on his shoulder which made him frown and paused for a moment. He was disappointed. She's blazing hot due to her fever (it came back) and she didn't carry the tension inside since she's unprepared and merely shocked. He laid her back on the bed and put a wet towel on her forehead.

Isabel's advice seemed to fail upon application on Levi's action. However, Hanji was getting busy working on the report about the happenings in the HQ after she discussed something with her subordinates. She wanted to find something out. She has to analyse the situation. Something good was going on.


	4. Author's Note

Dear Reader,

This is just an update so I can speak out my mind about the story, and so, to share it with you.

I am thinking if I will continue to work with this one. Yes, I am very happy for the reviews, favorites and follows that I've received. Even so, I suddenly feel frustrated about this story for some reasons and I want to spill my tears all over it. Seriously, it's sad. But! The fate of this story still depends upon you. If you want me to continue the next chapter, please tell me, pleeeaaassseee. I am VERY WILLING to finish this and it's my pleasure to share my Rivetra ideas. Most of all, I really want to read from you (encouragement or constructive criticism). Sorry, I'm desperate. I am discouraged, etc.

For some academic reasons, I am unable to make chapter 4. Aside from working on my undergraduate thesis, I was trapped in organizing two events for my organization celebrating the annual Japan Friendship Week in my university. So, I hope you still read my story/s until I update chapter 4 (if you want me to do so). Please bear with me. My desire to feed you with Rivetra moments all stocked up on my mind. I just don't have time to update. If you haven't read my Rivetra bodyguard AU story, you can check it on my profile under my works entitled Dangerous. I really, really want to read a review/feedback from you. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Truly sentimental,

ワイゼア(psychosocialwai) ＼(-o-)／


	5. Better

**Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! I decided to make this update quite longer than the first three to show my gratitude. I'm planning to include Hanji's hypothesis on the next chapters. I just want extra moments for Rivetra so…yeah, off we go.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

* * *

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

Everything felt light and comfortable. Petra slowly opened her bright amber eyes and was perplexed of her surrounding. She was not in the castle anymore. Instead, she was lying in a very relaxing field of flowers.

_'Where am I?'_

From the distance, she saw a white glowing manlike figure which seemed to be a kind of ghost. She was stunned for a moment but felt calm when it smiled at her. The figure was waiving its hand as if it's so excited to meet her.

_'A female ghost…no…a Survey Corps soldier.'_ she told herself in disbelief. She just nailed her sight on it.

The figure excitedly ran towards her.

"Hi! You must be Petra."

_'She talked to me! And she knows my name!' _Petra told herself again, merely surprised. "Yes, I am." she replied to the red haired figure in two ponytails.

"I am really looking forward to meet you. Big bro sure has his own taste, you're wonderful. Look at you!" the figure said cheerfully while smirking, she held Petra's hands.

"You're so warm. I'm glad I could at least feel you with this kind of body. You know, I had an untimed death a couple of years ago. I don't know how I became like this. I'm glowing inside and out." She turned around for Petra to see her glowing body. "But damned those titans!" she cried angrily. "Did you know that they ate my whole body and left my cute little head on the dirty, wet soil! They should've ate me whole."

"Are you..." Petra felt a shot on her heart upon hearing the word big bro, "...Isabel?"

The figure blinked as they maintained their eye contact. She nodded innocently.

"You're..no...how..." Petra couldn't find the right words to say.

She couldn't believe that the owner of the notebook that she found in the castle was standing in front of her, holding her with its cold hands. Isabel smiled sweetly.

"I am really a ghost now, or perhaps a wandering soul. Who cares? But I want you to consider me a ghost because it's cool. For several years, I started wandering around this endless field of flowers, green meadows, lakes and mountains and I enjoyed it. I could fly whenever I want to, it feels so good. I could also have access in your world and witness what you guys are doing. Don't worry, I seldom do it. Oh, how I wish big bro and Farlan is with me."

"Farlan?" Petra asked, trying to recall the familiar name. She heard it from Levi last night.

"He's a friend. We three used to live in the underground capital when Farlan and I was still alive. Maybe Farlan is wandering too but we haven't met yet. How's big bro, by the way?"

"Oh, I see. Levi Heichou is doing better, a clean freak though. He let my comrades do simple punishments in the HQ."

Isabel chuckled. "He sure is. I tell you, if you've done something wrong or have committed a mistake, you can lure him with a broomstick to freshen up his mood. Another option is, give him a hot cup of tea made of rare tea leaves. For sure, he'll be impressed. And if you're really that one lucky girl, he'll be glad to marry you. I don't know if it will work a hundred percent but I guess...hhmm…forget it. He likes you anyway, I...whoopsie." she covered her mouth with her hands, as if her tongue slipped on something.

Was it another practical advice from the red haired girl? How did she know something like that? Did she used to watch them during expeditions? Petra wanted to ask Isabel about it but she decided to listen to what she was telling her. She has lots of stories to tell because she missed talking to people. Petra enjoyed her company until she found them sitting on a green pasture near a vast large body of crystalline water.

"Can I ask you something?"

Isabel nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

"What do you call that big water? That wasn't a river or a lake, right?" she asked while pointing a finger on the crystal-like glittering water in front of them.

"Yup. It's what they call ocean. Beautiful, isn't it? We don't have ocean inside the walls so we don't know the concept of existing things. Ocean is where the river ends. You might only see other bodies of water in books that you've read during your school days. But books are shitty, useless references with twisted information. I'd rather satisfy my stomach than read them."

"Wow. It's amazing. So, how long have you been here, Isabel?" Petra asked as she gazed at the horizon over the ocean. "I'm going to call you Isabel because Levi Heichou used to call you that way."

"Oh, no problem. It's awkward to be called as Magnolia." the red haired girl replied. "Well, I don't exactly know. I don't bother myself to count the days and years passing by. I'm not good in numbers."

"Counting numbers is a lot easier than killing titans." Petra said, chuckling.

"You might be intelligent enough to catch up with numbers. It's something that I couldn't comprehend with."

"Oh. You're a skilled soldier, right? And Levi Heichou believed in your ability. Numbers are just numbers. Experience is more of a reinforcer for us to acquire learning than arithmetic. Well, to tell you the truth, I saw your journa –"

"What?! You're the one who saw my journal?" Isabel exclaimed. _'I missed that one in the real world, huh.'_ she told herself and looked at Petra's face quite nervous. "D-did you read it?"

Petra nodded. "I've learned a lot from you. Thanks for the facts about Levi Heichou and I've got information about your lives as thugs in the underground capital."

Isabel shrugged, dropping her surprised reaction to normal. "My life would be worthless if big bro didn't see me in the garbage. We're like rats when we're younger, you know? And by the way, did you know that he never fell in love with a girl? Not even once. That's why most of my good-for-nothing advices were referring to future possibilities. As if he was able to do it, ha-ha-ha."

"Really? Why?" Petra asked, pondering on Isabel's statements.

"He's more focused on many things around him. There was a point in my life that I came up with a plan of seducing him to test his resistance against temptation but I ended up in failure. He hit my head with a broomstick and dragged me out of his room like a pitiful puppy. Then, he scolded Farlan who doesn't have any idea about it. Big bro thought that Farlan allowed me to read something perverted... uuhhh, was that porn? Or maybe something like that stuff. I can't exactly remember." Isabel said as she recalled the past.

Petra laughed to what she heard. "So, you're not siblings?"

"Yup." Isabel nodded, "But I love him so much!" she added.

Petra slightly frowned. She died for about seconds upon hearing the answer. There was a sudden thud in her chest and her body seemed like shaking. She knew that if Isabel was still living, there would be no chance that Levi would notice him. For sure, there would be no Petra Ral in the Special Operations Squad.

"What's with the sudden frown?" Isabel noticed while looking at her, questioningly.

Petra shook her head. "Sorry, I just felt something weird. I feel like shaking...my head and shoulders." she replied. It wasn't literally shaking but the feelings inside that she was experiencing was legit.

"You love him, don't you?" Isabel frankly asked her. She suddenly became sober.

Petra looked straight on her eyes.

"Yes. I love Lev–"

"Petra! Oi, Petra, wake up! Darn it!"

Somebody was shaking both her shoulders to wake her up until she opened her eyes and immediately pushed her back off the bed. Her head knocked hardly against Levi's forehead.

"It hurts!" she groaned as she cupped her head with her hand. She then remembered her conversation with Isabel and scanned the room that she has been staying all throughout the day. _'It was just a dream.'_

"What's with you?" Levi asked, poker face of what just happened. Deep inside him, his forehead was pulsing as if his heart was transferred in his frontal lobe.

Petra turned her head to the corporal, who was standing beside her bed, and exclaimed in surprise. "Heichou!"

She finally went back to reality.

"You're babbling crap words." he said with a furrow in his brows.

"I..." she paused for a second, thinking if she'd tell him about her dream. She felt like everything within her seemed to be normal now. No fever, no allergies, no stomach cramps, just hungry. "I'm better." she replied in short words.

"That's one good hell to hear. You're starting to make that four eyes worry to death. It has been nine hours since you lost your consciousness. What do you think of yourself, Sleeping Beauty? No prince would come here to kiss you and break the curse for you."

Hanji smirked as she entered the room with a tray of food on her hands.

"Well, well. I am really not that worried. It just happened that she's convulsing. It must be the substance's effect that I injected to her. I already expected it." she said and placed the tray of food in the table near the bed. "Here, eat something." she added.

"Thank you." Petra replied.

"Hey Levi, aren't you the one who worried to death for nine hours straight?" Hanji asked, revealing the truth.

"Tch. Shut up." the corporal replied as his eyes stared at the blank wall of the room.

"She's no sleeping beauty. As if a prince could be able to enter this room while you're sitting beside her bed like a knight in shining blades." Hanji teased.

"I said shut up." the corporal replied. He was starting to feel embarrassed in front of Petra.

It was already past 11 o'clock in the evening and Auruo, Gunther and Erdo were already asleep. They finished the whole tasks at around 9 o'clock and was able to satisfy Levi's compulsiveness in cleaning.

The castle was lighted by candles and torches hanging on the walls of the corridor. It was a quiet and peaceful night.

"Okay. Give us time to talk, then. Is it alright, Levi?" Hanji asked him.

He marched outside the room without further discussions. Petra's heart pounded cautiously when Hanji's facial expression turned sober.

"So Petra, how do you feel right now?" Hanji began and pulled a seat.

"I'm feeling better than before." she replied as she held the spoon of soup and munched the bread. "I'm eating. Have you eaten already?"

"Sure, go ahead. You gotta eat. We're full. Levi cooked for us." Hanji said, then she continued, "Aren't you feel weird?"

"Yes. It feels really strange."

Hanji leaned forward, "Feels like what?" she asked grinning. Her face appealed to be some kind of creepy.

"I felt my energy was renewed and it seems like I'm stronger than before."

Hanji adjusted her glasses. "Very well." she clasped her hands and put it against her chin. _'The medicine is a success.'_ She said at the back of her mind.

"To evaluate your condition earlier, you puked on Levi's clothes upon smelling Auruo's horse shit odor. After several hours, you were awakened when Levi slammed the door but then you fainted. During the straight nine hours of unconsciously lying on your bed, Levi reported that you were babbling random words like his name and other absurdities."

Petra placed the spoon of soup on the tray and looked at Hanji. She knew that things would be better if she would tell her dream about Isabel. Only Hanji could comprehend with weird and strange things. She let out a sigh and opened her mouth to speak, but then she thought for a second and closed her lips which made her look like a blabber fish.

"Why?" Hanji asked curiously.

Petra took a deep breath and started telling her dream.

"I found myself lying in a field of flowers. At the distance, I saw a manlike figure smiling and waiving its hand on me. At first, I was frightened but when it ran towards me, I felt relieved." she looked straight at Hanji's eyes. "I met Isabel Magnolia."

Hanji almost jumped off her seat upon hearing the revelation.

"H-how did you know it's Isabel?" she asked curiously.

"Intuition. And when I asked her if she was Isabel, she said yes."

"So what happened?" Hanji's eyes glittered in excitement. _'She's spirited away!'_

"She was glowing white inside and out but her hands felt like dead cold. I admit that she's cute and kind of talkative. I never expected to have a conversation with her even though it's just a dream. But she told me many things, even her experiences when she was in the Survey Corps. We got along well and taught me something about a large body of water called ocean. She said it's where the river ends. It's beautiful." Petra explained.

"That's impressive! So how do you feel while talking to her?"

"Let me be honest, Hanji-san." Petra said, "I felt intimidated and unease especially when she used to tell things about Levi Heichou."

"That sounds interesting. Anyway, you should finish your food and take a rest. Tomorrow will be another day of work. Erwin and the troop will arrive here soon." Hanji said and stood from her seat. "Thank you for sharing your dream. It will help a lot." she left the room and shut the door gently.

The candle on the table kept on melting as it continuously provided enough light to brighten up the room. Petra sighed and took a bite on the bread. Her mind was floating in space and wished to see Isabel again to ask her many important and interesting things. She couldn't tell her half the things that she intended to say. But that thought was just a punch in the beautiful moon, a writing on the water, and a walk in the middle of a fiery furnace. In short, it's way too impossible to happen. She finished her food and got out of bed. She has to clean the utensils that she used. But she has to pee first because she spent the straight 15 hours in bed (from the moment when Hanji found out her high fever and allergy).

Along the torch-lit corridor, she felt perfectly fine as she walked fast with the tray in her hands. She was wearing her white button-down, black pants and black dress shoes. Her hair was a bit messy since she doesn't have much time to fix it. She wore no make up or even something that would make her more adorable and wonderful. It's just herself, amazingly simple but still gorgeous.

She rushed to the kitchen and put the utensils on the sink to wash it. There were several tea stained cups so she decided to work with it too but before she began, she has to go to the restroom first. She really needed to pee and her urinary bladder felt like it would explode at any moment. Maybe she was exaggerating her feeling but there were things that have to be done before anything else. On her way to leave the kitchen, Levi blocked the doorway.

"Since you're feeling better now, make me a cup of tea." he said as if he hired her as his personal maid.

"Yes, Sir." Petra answered but she still aimed to go outside the kitchen.

"There are tea leaves over the kitchen shelf. You don't have to go to the stock room." the corporal said, still not moving in the doorway.

'_Oh, please Heichou, yes I love you and I'm glad to be your tea maker, your personal maid, or your wife even if it takes forever! But I don't want to humiliate myself in front of you for peeing on my pants.'_ Petra said at the back of her mind. Particles of sweat started to form on her forehead and Levi couldn't understand why her eyebrows were twitched.

"Petra?" he asked, slightly curious.

"Excuse me, Sir. I have to go somewhere for a minute." she still managed to reply. _'It's coming out. At any second... oh goddesses of the walls, for goodness sake!'_

Levi stared at her that made her feel quite intimidated; he didn't move. She couldn't stand with the pee anymore. No more than a minute to keep it. Whatever it would take, she has to go to the restroom.

"Get out of my way!" she said and pushed the corporal aside which made him surprised as she accidentally banged the left side of his head on the doorway. She pushed him unconsciously.

She ran straight to the corridor and turned right. Levi couldn't able to react. He was slightly surprised to what she did but still in his poker face. He just considered that it must be the effect of the substance Hanji has injected to Petra.

After she succeeded the expedition to the restroom, she sighed in great relief and the scenario earlier started to sink to her brain down to her spinal cord. What did she just do to Levi?

She went back to the kitchen to approach him but he was not there.

_'... I tell you, if you've done something wrong or have committed a mistake, you can lure him with a broomstick to freshen up his mood. Another option is, give him a hot cup of tea made of rare tea leaves...'_

Isabel's too-good-to-be-true advices stroke her mind. The corporal asked her for a cup of tea a while ago so she hastened to make one that she filled with tender love and care. After preparing it with two slices of wheat bread, she searched for him in the whole castle. He wasn't in his room, not even on the roof top. Everyone might be asleep because it was almost midnight. That's also the reason why Hanji told her to take a rest.

"Where are you, Levi Heichou?" she said under her breath as she passed by the corridor on the lower ground near the garden.

The moon was bright in its full circle, making silhouette on every ornamental plant and leaves around the garden. There seated on the green grass was Levi, staring blankly at the vast starry sky. Petra stood at the distance for a while as she gazed at the man she admired in her whole military life. It was a fateful two minutes of her life to stare at him without any hesitation. Nobody knew that she's standing there, savoring the moment. Unfortunately, she sneezed due to the winter breeze that distracted Levi from his quiet moment.

He turned his head to look at the person who just sneezed. Petra maintained her poise when he figured out that she was there stealing some glances from him. Before he was able to say something, she approached him as she handed the cup of tea.

"Here's your tea, Sir. It took me a while to search for you so it might be lukewarm now."

The corporal kept on staring at her which made her feel unease. She placed the cup on the grass along with the plate of two slices of bread and sat beside him.

"I don't care if it's lukewarm or cold." he replied after an awkward seconds of silence.

Petra couldn't find the right words to say. She kept her mouth shut. During her days in the military training, a certain instructor told her that "in silence, there is magic", in which she believed was quite true.

Levi, on the other hand, got the cup of tea and took a sip. His eyes brightened up when he tasted the indulging, addictive sensation of the rare tea leaves.

"Impressive." he muttered as he broke the silence.

"Sir?" Petra asked to clarify what her corporal was trying to compliment.

"This is made of rare tea leaves. Where did you get this?"

"On the kitchen shelf." she answered.

"I never saw a rare one there. Those boxes were cheap." he said and sipped on the cup again. He was relaxed and happy but his face didn't show any signs of it. Quite ironic.

"We're lucky enough to have one unique and expensive box." she said and winked. "Say, Heichou..." she added, "Why do you love drinking tea?"

She knew that it's a stupid question to ask but at least, its a good start for a conversation.

"Caffeine."

"How about coffee? I mean, if you crave for more caffeine, it would be better."

Levi sighed and put down the cup. "I lived among the garbage in the underground. Food is insufficient there so I used to force myself to eat crap tasting food just to fill my stomach. Sometimes, Isabel would complain about meals and we're both hungry. One day, I discovered something good and that's tea. Coffee is quite expensive than black tea...I don't know if it's still the same up to this day."

Petra gave a chuckle. "I think that's one account of history for Levi Heichou. Speaking of Isabel, is she your little sister?"

At last, she gained all the courage to ask it. Yes, she already asked Isabel but she wanted to hear it come forth from Levi's lips. A woman's logic.

"No. We're not even blood related. I just saw her dying along the filthy garbage so I took her."

Another shot on Petra's heart. She envied Isabel. For sure, that red haired girl knew everything about him.

"I thought she's your sibling. I felt sad about what had happened to her though." She said with a frown.

"What are you saying?" he asked, puzzled why she felt sorry and sad.

"She's cute, talented and very comfortable to talk with. Her life with you in the underground was really the best years in her life."

Levi started to formulate numerous questions on his mind. He couldn't fully get her point. Was she talking about the journal entries? Isabel's physical appearance and death wasn't obviously written there.

"I don't get you."

"Would you believe me if I tell you something unbelievable?" Petra asked.

"If that unbelievable is interesting, tell it to me." he replied.

"I met Isabel on my dream." she started.

Levi maintained his expression.

"We've talked about many things and I've learned a lot from her. She's-"

"Petra, she's damned dead." he cut her off.

"I know, Sir. But I swear, I met her. She even held my hands and she's so cold."

"You don't even know her. Drop your thoughts about stupid."

"But..."

"Is that the effect of the substance that Hanji injected to you?" He asked bluntly.

"No." she replied, "I mean...maybe." and she was silent.

He might got angry if she continued.

"Tomorrow, you gotta help me with the paperworks. Erwin's about to arrive in the morning. I bet he'll discuss new positions about the long distance formation. Another percentage of casualties was reported during the last expedition."

"Yes, Sir." Petra answered and took one of the wheat breads. She took a bite on it and felt that she's way too lucky not to experience hunger and eat crap tasting food during her childhood. The corporal sure has great endurance to survive.

Levi looked at her. "Your hair is messy."

She was surprised. It was the first time that her commanding officer noticed her hair. She placed the bread on the plate and brushed her light ginger strands.

"What triggered you to join the Survey Corps, anyway?" Levi asked, "Committing yourself for humanity's sake, though you're fully aware that any moment titans can kill you."

She stopped brushing her hair and looked at him. What a sudden question? Does it have something to do with Isabel's death?

"I chose to protect humanity and see the outside world."

"You're insane. Why didn't you join the brats in the military police? It's more comfortable being there."

"If I join them, I wouldn't be able to meet you and the whole Survey Corps." she said with a smile.

He looked at her eyes, slightly flattered. "Not bad."

They spent the whole night sharing ideas and talking about random topics. That was unexpected on Petra's part but it felt like the goddesses of the walls gave her the moment of truth. It's one in a million and she never knew if it would happen again. When the cold breeze blew over their skin, she felt a chill on her spine and sneezed again.

"You should go back inside and rest." Levi ordered.

* * *

**Author's Note: I made the last part terrible. LOL. Anyway, next chapter soon!**


	6. Hanji's Hypothesis

**Author's Note: Hi! It's been a while. I've been busy over a lot of important things since the semester is about to end and I believe you understand. Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate it.**

* * *

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"So…" Erwin looked at Hanji as he finished reading the report. He was wearing his usual expression, "You're trying to say that-"

Hanji grinned and didn't care to cut him off in mid-sentence. "You're not against it, right? Right?"

The blond commander closed his eyes and leaned his back on his comfortable seat. He was thinking for a moment and Hanji didn't bother him for that fateful three minutes. They were in the office for final consultation and further evaluation. The report has been finalized, with all the needed data and the observations that she has worked yesterday.

"What?" she asked him, patiently waiting for his reaction when he took longer than three minutes.

To no avail, Erwin sighed and seriously answered. "Someone has to leave the Survey Corps and I'll allow that to happen."

Hanji shifted her bright mood into annoyance. "But Erwin!" she complained.

"You know how I disapprove forming romantic relationship in the corps." Erwin replied.

She snorted. "Is it because you're still single?" she murmured.

The commander looked at her eyes. "Hanji, you-"

"Is it because you're an old bachelor means you won't let them? Isn't that unfair, Erwin?" she asked frankly.

Erwin didn't respond immediately when the words entered his ears and the language was processed by his brain. Indeed, he's an old bachelor without a wife or even a girlfriend. Hanji's words seemed to hit his head and shot his soul to death. She didn't have to slap reality on his thick eyebrows.

"You don't get my point, Hanji." He said calmly and got up from his seat. "Hypothesis is just mere guess. We still have to confirm if your theories are true." he added and went outside his office.

Hanji was left alone staring on the nineteen pages report that was placed on the table. It was a record of all that has happened since she arrived in the castle, the punishments, Petra's journal, Isabel's journal, the Special Operations Squad's concern for their female member, Petra's condition and dream about Isabel, Levi's reaction, her hypothesis and evaluation. Little did she knew that Erwin never talked about relationship and love matters. Some old memories in the past might have something to do with the bitterness of the blond man.

A grin suddenly painted on her lips as her glasses shone in brightness due to the sun's reflection.

* * *

_Nine hours earlier…_

"Alright. Good night, Heichou." Petra said and stood up.

It was past midnight and she felt sleepy. She needed to rest though she really wanted to talk to him more. Aware that her corporal has bouts of insomnia and sleeps for about 2-3 hours everyday, she couldn't accompany him all night long. Besides, she just recovered from her fatigue so she has to sleep even just for about four hours.

"We'll go back to our normal routine later. Good night, Petra." The corporal replied.

"Yes, Sir." She answered with determination. Then, she placed her right pulsed hand on her heart for a salute and left.

Levi stayed on the garden and was trying to ponder with an inner conflict between a hope of something he wished for versus reality. For real, he was starting to fall on her spell. However, lectures from his former mentor kept on telling him not to involve himself into any 'more than subordinate' kind of relationship.

"Don't waste your time with shitty hormones' calling, midget." that person told him when they were still living together in the underground during Levi's youthful days.

The corporal stared blankly on the night sky while pondering about the decision that he'd about to make. However, Petra went back to her room while singing happily.

It would become part of her history. Corporal Levi Ackerman shared something about his past to a sweet lady named Petra Ral. She smirked upon thinking of the scenario and threw herself on the bed.

At dawn, galloping of horses was heard from the distance in which Hanji noticed as she walked by the stable early in the morning. She has to check the horses since Moblit has a fever now. She hypothesized that it's some kind of psychological thought and it's all in Moblit's mind. He was overacting when he carried Petra yesterday back to her room.

The troop arrived in the castle without any casualties since titans are inactive during the night. Erwin purposely took the evening tour so it would be easy for them to travel, and the carriages of weapons and other important stuff would be safe.

Hanji saluted to the commander when she saw the sight of him. He looked at her as he went down from his white horse.

"How's it?" he asked. Though there was no clear thing about the 'it' that he was asking, Hanji already caught the idea.

"As surely as Levi lives, this headquarter will be dust-free and shiny." she replied.

Satisfied of what he heard, Erwin instructed the troop to take their rest on the rooms that the Special Operations Squad has cleaned.

"Hanji, on my office at 10:00." He told her. He was talking about her report in which he gave her as an assignment.

"Alright." She replied casually and went to check the horses.

She already placed the report on Erwin's table earlier so when he arrived at the office, he could read it before 10:00. An excitement was drawn on her face on the thought of assessing her hypothesis with the commander.

Her hypothesis was about the formation of a higher level of relationship within Levi's squad. She came up with the theory that Levi has formed special feeling with Petra. Auruo did too. However, it was evident that Petra has serious feelings for her corporal. She admitted to herself about her bias shipping and felt that she has something to do with it.

"The ship will sail. No matter what happens, it will sail." she told herself with motivation.

After almost half an hour, Gunther and Erdo went near the stable to have some chat, with their cups of tea. They were talking about some random matters until their topic shifted to titans. Hanji, who was currently walking out of the stable, saw them and decided to join their random chat.

"I think it's a bad idea to talk about titans right now." Erdo whispered as they saw the approaching major with a grin pasted on her face.

"You bet it right." Gunther replied in a not-so-noticeable way.

"Good morning, Levi fellows." Hanji greeted.

"Hey, Hanji-san." Erdo greeted back. "Uhh, tea?" he added, just to deviate the titan topic.

"Thanks but I'll make one for myself later." She answered and leaned forward as she lowered her voice. "I have to ask something to you guys."

The two men looked at each other curiously.

* * *

Erwin let out a sigh as he went to the dining hall only to find out Levi who was sitting across the table. On his left was Petra who was holding some papers and they seemed to work well with each other seriously. The two didn't notice him so he preferred to observe them at the distance behind the shadows.

"Why do I have to sign all this fucking papers?" Levi asked in an irritated manner. "I thought there are only two piles."

"More papers are coming. Don't complain." Petra said.

Levi's eyes slightly rolled and continued to sign the endless sheets of papers piled on the table. He's more used to field related works, not with papers. Too many sheets (or maybe shits) that he wanted to ask Petra to forge his signature. It's just a plain letter L that looked like a check so it would be easy for forging. His penmanship is as rude as his words. Only Hanji, Erwin and Petra could read or figure it out. When Erdo, Gunther, Auruo and the rest was once given an instruction by Levi via letter, they could only see some star-like figures, scribbles and some letters which seemed like a doodle.

When a thought came to him, he looked at her as his narrow eyes seemed to glitter. "You gotta help me with this shit." He said.

Petra blinked. "Am I not helping you?" she asked merely puzzled.

"Get the other half and forge it." He ordered.

"What?" she asked in confirmation.

"I said forge it. I know you can do it. Have faith."

"That's my line!"

"I don't fucking care. Just do it."

Erwin's famous eyebrows twitched upon hearing Levi's last words. Was he imitating Petra's favorite quote? What's with the forge thing? Does it mean those two were already into forgery for a long time? He remained standing by the wall on the shadowy corner, arms crossed over his chest. He must gather data on his own since he doesn't want to bother himself with Hanji's report. The evaluation of the paper suggested that he should let the two become couple. It was really for Hanji's own study about Levi and his taste of women. If it has nothing to do with titans, Erwin wouldn't bother himself to agree with the proposal. Another thing was that proposals involving love matters would be the very first to be trashed out.

"I can't, Sir. You should sign it all by your own signature with sincerity and patience."

"Are you trying to lecture me?" the corporal responded.

"No. I'm just telling a fact."

"You'll do it or I'll-" he was interrupted when his eyes caught a sight of a tall blond man standing and watching them at the distance.

"You'll what, Heichou?" Petra asked as she waited for him to finish his statement.

The corporal gazed at Erwin's direction. "I thought you'll discuss something with Hanji on your office."

The commander closed his dazzling blue eyes and answered, "We just did."

Petra's eyes slightly widen when she saw Erwin and thought if he heard about the falsification of signature. But still, she pretended to know nothing about it and stayed calm on her seat. Levi continued to sign the papers, he doesn't want to bother himself about the commander's interruption of his forgery plan. He's not afraid of him though.

Silence embraced the three of them for about ten minutes. They were all buying some time and the blond commander was using the power of his eyebrows to sense the nature of a seemingly budding relationship of the two. He actually wanted to believe in Hanji's theories but he wanted to find evidences by himself.

"Do you have important business to discuss with us?" Levi asked to end up the tension that he and Petra was fighting inside.

"I'll discuss the new positions of the long distance formation later at 3:00." Erwin replied as he remained seated across Levi.

If the corporal has intimidating eyes, the commander's eyebrows were more intimidating which made Petra a bit conscious. It's very unusual for him to waste his time watching them doing some paperworks.

"Ugh. My back hurts." Auruo grumbled to himself as he entered the dining hall and saw the three on the table. He was still experiencing hang over about yesterday's punishment.

When the corporal saw him, he took advantage of it and called him. Auruo responded quickly while Erwin and Petra's attention shifted to him.

"What is it, Levi Heichou?" he asked as he walked towards them.

"Prepare some tea for us. Petra, you give him a hand." the corporal ordered his two subordinate. He has to make a way so Petra would have the chance to leave the dining hall. He was starting to feel something about Erwin's observation.

"Yes, Sir." the two replied. Though Petra was wondering on the order, why did she has to prepare the tea with Auruo when she could do it alone?

Auruo smirked as they took their tour to the kitchen. "I never knew that you are willing to give me a hand."

"Shut up, Auruo." Petra replied with twitched eyebrows.

"You're so bittersweet." he said, trying to tease her.

Veins were starting to pop on Petra's head. "One more word and I'll feed you to titans outside the walls."

"I think you're back." Gunther said behind them along with Erdo.

They turned their heads to see their comrades. "Gunther-san!" Petra greeted happily. They weren't able to have some chat yesterday due to what had happened.

"Good to see you sunny again." he said.

Petra smiled. "Thank you." she replied back.

The two men stared at Auruo.

He scratched his head. "What's with the two of you?"

"Aren't we the one to ask you? You're slacking off this morning." Erdo answered.

"Why don't you put your feet on my shoes and feel the pain of the corporal's beating yesterday? I bet you wouldn't be able to sleep soundly at night." he reasoned out.

"Pitiful." the three said.

They went to the kitchen and prepared tea for Levi and Erwin who were talking on the dining hall.

"Just shave your eyebrows and get a freaking girlfriend." Levi said sarcastically.

He was getting pissed by Erwin's questions. The corporal was starting to get the hint from the commander's words. It was all about relationships in the Survey Corps and their opinions.

"Why, do you already have one?" the blond commander replied while looking straight at Levi's eyes.

* * *

"Brilliant!" Hanji exclaimed to herself as if she won in a lottery while exploring Erwin's things in his room.

* * *

**A/N: Show me some love, lol.**


	7. Observations

**Author's Note: I want to tell you (to those who reviewed on Hanji's Hypothesis chapter) that I LOVE YOU TOO… SO MUCH! And to my silent readers, thank you for sticking with me and my crazy fanfic story.**

**Okay, so here's Chapter 5.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

**P.S. If Armin is a girl, the economy will collapse. Just saying.**

* * *

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

Erwin took a short walk outside the castle to breathe some air. He needed a lone time to ponder about things and arising issues. The thought of Hanji's report kept on bothering him, as well as Levi's squad. What was happening to his men?

As he walked through the woods, his sight caught bushes of lovely crocus budding from the plant. Some were already blossomed beautifully while several of them were still spouting from the stalks. Some memories from the past suddenly boggled him which eventually reminded him of the conversation earlier.

_"Just shave your eyebrows and get a freaking girlfriend."_

_Levi's words echoed repeatedly at the back of the commander's mind. The corporal's response offended him but he managed to counter it with a question __that__ caused to stutter the short guy._

_"Why, do you already have one?" the blond commander replied while looking straight at Levi's eyes._

_That was the moment when Auruo entered the room. He was to bring the tea that the Spec__ial__ Op__eration__s Squad had prepared. Gunther and Erdo planned to get Petra's attention for a while and they told her their experiences during the punishment. This was for her to tell them the whole details of what had happened yesterday during her sickness. It's data gathering time._

_"Of course..." Levi paused for a quick second and Auruo stopped at the moment. "Of course I don't. What kind of stupid question is that, Erwin?"_

_The commander's side lips slightly curled, "I'm just asking. I know you wouldn't. I supposed you're someone who wouldn't mind to involve himself in a romantic relationship."_

_The corporal slightly rolled his eyes. "Tch. Beats me." he said under his breath and took the cup of alluring tea._

_Before he could drink it, Auruo adjusted his cravat and proudly said, __"I've made that one, Sir!" _

_Levi immediately placed the cup back on the tray __that__ surprised his subordinate. "Where's the one that Petra made?"_

_Erwin was surprised__ too__ and watched the two in front of him across the table._

_"This one." __Auruo__ answered in dismayed as he pointed on the other cup. The corporal got the cup that was made by Petra and took a sip on it._

_"It really is. No doubt." he said, satisfied of the tea. _

_"Commander." Auruo gave him the other cup which became an option earlier. Poor tea._

_The blond guy just kept silent and sipped on it. "This tea is great." he praised the subordinate to encourage him and appreciate his work._

_The __poor subordinate__ put his hand at the back of his head and smiled __sheepishly.__ "Thanks, Commander Erwin."_

_Levi just focused his attention on the tea that he was drinking. After a __d__eafening five minutes of silence, Erwin left them __that__ brought a relief to the corporal. He wanted no more questions about romantic relationships._

* * *

"Auruo, get some rags. We'll clean the tables." Levi ordered.

When Auruo left to get the thing, Levi buried his face on his arms. He wanted to rest his narrow, eyebagged eyes even just for a short period of time. It was rare of him to feel exhausted but he's only human.

"Levi Heichou." a soothing voice called out after a gracious three minutes.

When she saw him, she wasn't surprised to see him took a nap. He needed it even just for a while.

He didn't bother himself to open his eyes. He remained on his comfortable position. He wouldn't mind if Petra saw him that way, he's much comfortable with her presence than the others. Petra seeing him taking a five-minute nap won't demoralize him as a corporal unless other soldiers saw him. It's a different thing.

"Oi, Petra! Wha-" Auruo was cut off when a "sshhh" interrupted him.

When Levi heard him, he forced to open his eyes and stared at his two subordinates; it made them feel startled. It's a bad idea to rest, now that Auruo has returned.

"Petra, get two broomsticks. Thank you." he said without breathing. His eyebags seemed to add more weight under his narrow eyes. He wore his usual furrow beneath his eyebrows.

"Yes, Sir!" she said and marched outside the room. _'He must be tired but he's__ still__ cool while he's taking a nap.'_ she told herself giggling.

"Heichou, you can take a rest if you want. We could handle the cleaning." Auruo told his corporal, concern about his commanding officer's condition.

Levi looked at him. "No need. I'll give you a hand."

"Okay. If you insist." He shrugged.

He gave the corporal two big white handkerchiefs to complete his cleaning get-up. It took them less than a minute before they started wiping the tables. The wrinkled subordinate was bothered by Erwin's question and Levi's answer earlier so he thought of a good question to ask. "Uh, Levi Heichou..." he started, "Mind to ask you a question?"

"What is it?" the corporal asked in a monotone voice.

Auruo gulped before asking him. "Do you have a heart?"

"What's with that fucking question, Auruo? Will you also ask me if I have a dumbass brain?"

* * *

Hanji stared blankly on the ceiling for several seconds. After she recovered from what she read a couple of minutes ago, she took a deep breath. Adjusting her silver-framed glasses, she got a quill pen and wrote on her narrative journal.

She was alone in the experiment room of the HQ. It was located upstairs of the dungeon, four blocks from the right. Nobody would have the nerve to try and enter that seemingly demon-possessed room. Sometimes, Moblit or Nifa was forced to enter and assist their commanding officer but if you would ask about their freewill, they would never try to go there by any chance.

After she sneaked in from Erwin's room, she went to the experiment room and locked herself there for about half an hour. Keiji and Nifa were looking for her all around the castle for some reasons but they couldn't find her.

_Entry #129_

_I never expected that Erwin__ trashed my report__. I am disappointed. __Geez, __reality is just before our eyes! Can'__t he even see that __a relationship__ is in the__ process? Indeed, I am currently conducting a study about Levi's taste of women but this one rare case of Petra Ral is very interesting. Confronting Erwin w__o__n't result any good so I went to check something in his room while he's away. I know my assumptions are useless if I don't have evidences._

_Guess what I found in Erwin's room? __H__ahahaha! I never __expected__ that the ever respectable and dignified commander of the Survey Corps has been keeping piles of diaries for years! Isn't it a brilliant discovery? __They're __all __about __his expedition__ experience__s. It's pretty boring to read all the entries since I've been seeing Nile, Pixis, Zacklay and Levi's name on it. What's been more interesting was when I found an unfamiliar name of a woman mentioned from the first two notebooks. There must be something behind it and I must find out. I have to read them later._

_Conclusions will be drawn after gathering all the data needed._

_Hanji Zoe, Commander of the 4th Squad_

She also listed all her formulated hypotheses and assumptions for the current study. Aside from Levi's case, she now considered Erwin to be one of his subjects. But she has to finish Levi's first so she could proceed with the commander's interesting case. When she was through with her journal entry, she walked out of the shady room and went upstairs to troll around. She heard voices coming from the dining hall.

"That's not what I mean, Heichou." Auruo retorted.

"Then, why are you asking if I ever have a heart? Am I not human to you?" Levi asked, quite pissed.

Hanji chuckled upon hearing the corporal's question. When she entered the dining hall, she found Levi and Auruo cleaning. Levi has his usual white big handkerchief on his head. It's very rare to see them working together alone. She wondered where Petra and the other two could be.

She tapped the door with her fingers for them to notice her presence. "Is it really nice to clean a castle? You seemed to be cleaning for three days now. Why don't you take a day of rest?" she asked and put her hands over her waist.

Auruo shrugged. "Ask Levi Heichou." And he continued wiping the tables in sweat.

"This old castle is flooded with dirty elements. You should be thankful we're not lazy enough to clean for your health's sake." Levi answered. He was talking about the whole Survey Corps' sake.

"Is that so? I see no sarcasm there." the buntaichou replied. "Where's Erwin?" she added.

"Somewhere. He looks aggravated." The corporal said in his usual manner and dropped the rag on the table. "His questions are also suspiciously stupid."

Auruo looked at Hanji. "The commander confirmed if Heichou is already in a relationship. Isn't that odd? What do you think, Hanji-san?"

Hanji grinned upon hearing Auruo's statement. "Is the whole Special Operations Squad present when Erwin asked you that matter, Levi?"

"No. Auruo is the only one who heard that stupid question."

"Is that the reason why Auruo is asking you if you have a heart?" Hanji patted the imitator's back. "Nice question you got there, my friend. I think you should better check that out for yourself." She told the wrinkled lad beside her, and added, "But what if Levi really has no heart?"

She looked at the short guy, "Because it was already captured by someone." Then, she grinned teasingly.

"Shut up, shit glasses." Levi's eyebrows twitched all of a sudden while Auruo became more confused.

Hanji laughed cheerfully. "Kidding. Just kidding." She said and tapped Levi's shoulder. "Oh, by the way, have you seen Keiji?"

"He passed by here earlier looking for you. He's with Nifa." the corporal replied while looking suspiciously to the lady soldier beside her.

"Oh. Okay. I'll look for them then." she said. When she was about to exit, she met Petra on the doorway.

"Hi." Hanji greeted. "Good to see you sunny again."

Petra smiled. "Yes. Uh, about yesterday." she said, "I just want to say thank you."

Hanji gave her a cheerful smile and tapped her shoulder, "Next time, don't force yourself too much." and she exited.

"What took you forever to bring those things here, Petra? We've started to form molds under our boots." Auruo seemed to scold her with two broomsticks on her hands.

She frowned. "Geez. I have to go to the basement to get this, you know? And you're not Levi Heichou so stop talking as if you're my commanding officer." the lady soldier replied, kind of pissed.

Auruo snorted and proceeded to wipe the last table that he has to clean. However, Levi, who heard the little argument of the two, turned to face Petra and held her hands that were still holding the broomsticks. He stared on her eyes for several seconds which made her felt unease.

"Heichou?" she asked, merely puzzled of what the corporal was doing.

He shifted his gaze to the broomstick on her left hand which he was also holding. "Gorgeous." he shortly said and took the alluring thing out of her hand. The broomstick was gorgeous. "Go, swipe over there." he added.

Auruo almost dropped his jaw while watching what his corporal just did. Was the Humanity's Strongest Soldier flirting with his subordinate? Even though he was just a subordinate, he couldn't help but to think that his corporal was doing something against the rules. Flirting, courting and forming romantic relationship were strictly prohibited in the corps. It was Erwin who passed that rule and was approved by the higher authority. Blame the bitter blond commander.

When the corporal caught him staring at them, he asked him, "What are you staring at, Auruo?"

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this update. Sorry, my mind wasn't really set on fanfics these past weeks. I'm still flourishing my thesis for a defense next week. Wish me luck! After that, I'll publish right away so stay tuned! Take care! xx**


	8. Expedition

**Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I know the feeling of dying while waiting for ages.**

**But first, (let me take a selfie, lol) I want to thank Hedonyable and AnnaAckerman for the past weeks of PM's and words of motivation**** here in ffnet****. Also, I want to extend my grateful appreciation to Blueeyeswhit3 for including this story on her Tumblr post of rivetra fanfics. Along with this credit, I want to thank FrostyCakes, heartlessthief, vale, jenna, pugsasffggg, and other writers and anon reviewers. If you're not mentioned, I still love you!**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own ****Shingeki no Kyojin.**

* * *

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

Despite of the raging jealousy battling inside him, Auruo just shook his head. He placed his left hand at the back of his neck and rubbed it gently as particles of sweat started to form on his forehead. He couldn't avoid the thought of Erwin's rules and Levi's unusual actions. His corporal was out of his usual character, or he might be sick, that's what he thought.

"I-I'm finished wiping the tables." He said sheepishly.

Levi nodded. "Good. Take a break then." he added while holding a broomstick in his right hand.

"But…" Auruo simply gazed at Petra who was swiping cheerfully at the corner. She was humming a song that caused the two men to imagine dancing notes surrounding her in mid-air.

"We could finish it in minutes." Levi said as if he was able to read his subordinate's thoughts about the lady with a broomstick.

Auruo sighed, "Yes, Heichou." He muttered and dropped the rags on the table. Before he walked out the door, he called out. "Petra, we'll see you later."

She nodded, giving him a smile. When he exited the room, he looked for Erdo and Gunther and found them outside with Hanji and Nifa. They seemed to be discussing something important based on the serious look on their faces. When he joined them, they seemed to change the topic.

"Auruo, are you done with the cleaning?" Hanji asked, quite curious.

He nodded. "Yeah. But those two aren't finish yet." He replied.

The four soldiers looked at each other's eyes and grinned.

There was a deafening silence on the dining hall where Levi and Petra were cleaning. They kept on swiping the floor until Petra sang an old song in a mellow genre. Levi looked at Petra with twitched eyebrows. Since when did that song came up in public? He first heard it while he was still on the underground capital. He was passing by an old man who used to sing for a living and Isabel tried to sing it too but it was terrible.

He was thinking if Petra was singing that song for him or she's just bored while swiping. Nevertheless, he still assumed that she was singing it for him for some sort of entertainment. She has calming voice and it was very pleasant on his ears.

"Not bad." He said.

All the dancing notes broke and dropped on the ground when Petra got distracted on her corporal's side comment. She drifted her amber colored eyes towards him and tilted her head in innocence. The corporal shook his head and continued swiping when there's really no dust on the floor anymore. It felt like all the bacteria and dust on the HQ fled from his presence since the day before yesterday.

"Levi Heichou," she called out to avoid an awkward moment. "What will be our new formation on the expedition?" she asked as she stopped swiping the dirt in her place.

He lowered the handkerchief that was covering his nose and mouth. "You will be positioned in my left. I'll in-charge you to guard our squad's west side, you'll also hold the red flare gun. Fire it when you see titans approaching on the west." He explained.

She nodded devotedly and finished the swiping at the corner.

After a few minutes, "I'm done!" she said happily.

"You can take a break." He said as he stood by the window, back was leaning against the pane. He was just waiting for her to finish the swiping.

"No need." She replied and walked beside him.

She looked outside the open square and took a deep breath while her eyes were closed. He just watched her as she relaxed herself. While gazing on her wonderful face, he was suddenly reminded again of his thoughts last night.

'_Don't waste your time with shitty hormones' calling, midget__.__'_

A slight frown was drawn on his face which Petra noticed when her amber colored eyes went to his direction.

"Heichou?" she asked with a puzzled look.

He didn't say a word and drifted his sight outside. She tilted her head and looked outside the window too.

After a few moment of awkward silence, they parted ways. She went to the kitchen to help the other soldiers prepare lunch. They cooked the best meal so even if they die later, their tongues and stomachs were satisfied.

"I really hate this feeling." Auruo stated while devouring his meal like a titan eating carrots and potatoes with small cuts of meat.

Erdo looked at him. "Why?" he asked quizzically.

"The food is so special. It feels like this will be our last meal." He answered, quite pessimistic.

"Geez. Quit your silly thoughts and just enjoy the food." Petra commented, eyes were a bit narrowed.

After lunch, they proceeded on their rooms to pack their things up and put it on the carriages. While Petra was loading her things in one of the wagons, Levi called her.

"Yes, Levi Heichou?" she replied in her usual manner.

"Are we all packed?" he asked in a monotone voice. He was referring to all their squad's essentials that they need for the expedition.

She nodded. "Yes, Sir."

"The medical kit?" he confirmed.

She nodded again.

Levi patted her head. "Good." he said in satisfaction.

"Hey lovebirds," Hanji interrupted the moment, "Erwin's about to begin with the discussion of the long distance formation." she called out meters away from them.

Petra looked at her and waved her right arm in response. Levi just remained poker face and walked with her towards the assembly.

* * *

"Let's go!" Erwin exclaimed and the expedition started.

They left the HQ at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon. He discussed the new position of each squad in the long distance formation and everyone's ready for their new squad positions. Hanji was so excited to meet titans again and she already forgot her data gathering during the mission.

"Yahoo! Gotta catch them soon!" she spoke to herself while her horse was galloping really fast.

"Buntaichou! The formation!" Moblit shouted at her who was right behind her.

"I know!" she replied and chuckled when she suddenly remembered her agendas. _'I'll_ _gather the data later.'_

On the west side of the formation next to Hanji's squad, there was Levi's squad. Petra was very alert on her position because of Levi's instructions on her. She would frequently look at her left, but most of the time, she would drift her eyes in his back where the Wings of Freedom was embodied on his green cape. Simply looking at him made her feel the security from all sort of danger.

"Petra!" Gunther shouted from her back.

"Y-yes, Gunther-san?" she answered merely stuttered. Did her comrades catch her stealing glances on her corporal?

"Did you fill your gas earlier?" he asked.

She pondered for a moment and realized that she forgot to fill her gear. It was just half full. All of the men looked at her upon hearing Gunther's question. Even Levi turned his head to look at her. Nevertheless, she lied and told them that she already filled her gas before they left the HQ.

They were on the west were it was expected that they, the east side and those in the rear, would be the squads to encounter titans. If that happens and the titans havoc, she has limited use of her 3DMG to prevent from running out of gas if ever they were required to use it.

'_I've been busy checking the squad's essentials. Why did I forget to fill my gear? Ugh! What is happening to you, Petra Ral?'_ she told herself, worrying over her condition.

When she accidentally shifted her gaze on her left, she saw three titans approaching. There were two titans which seemed to be considered as abnormal and the other one was just typical. She immediately held the signal flare on her hand and loaded red ammo on the pistol. She then fired it for Hanji's squad to notice.

"Shit! Those two assholes are running fast!" Auruo exclaimed as he watched the brainless smiling giants ran towards their direction.

There were the woods about a kilometer away at the distance. Levi could see it with his clear, narrow eyes.

"Move faster!" he ordered and they all rushed straight ahead.

When Hanji saw the red smoke rising in the sky, "Nifa!" she exclaimed, signaling her subordinate to fire the red flare.

Nifa fired her gun to warn the next squad. The smoke signals reached Erwin at the center-front and the mission still continued. It was good that their travel last night left no casualties and they successfully arrived in the HQ. However, there were times when fate seemed to play a fool in his lead.

"Erwin, there are two coming at the distance. They're heading towards us." Mike said while sniffing.

The commander fired a red ammo and continued towards the field.

"Shouldn't we suppose to change the direction?" Mike asked in confirmation.

"No. We should take them down if we encounter them." He answered seriously.

The Levi squad headed towards the woods. They already knew that they must turn the titans down no matter what happens.

"Erdo, Gunther, Auruo, Petra!" Levi exclaimed, "Let's do this!"

"Yes, Sir!" the squad replied.

The two running titans were only several meters away from them so they switched to 3DMG once they reached the rear of the woods. The first titan who approach them swung its arm and tried to grab whoever was within reach. Everyone quickly dodged and Gunther attached his hook to the nearest tree to maneuver. Auruo sliced its hamstrings to prevent it from running. It fell its knees on the ground but since it's quite tall, 10m to be exact, they have to immediately attack its nape.

"Petra!" Levi called out, trying to tell her to attack the nape.

She immediately responded and attached her hook on the titan's back. She drew her blades and sliced the nape of the said giant. When she turned it down, the other running titan grabbed Gunther within a split second while the typical one was aiming straight towards her.

"Shit!" Auruo tensed and immediately took his action to rescue the one that he could immediately reach.

Petra shot her cable on the nearby tree. "What the-" she said, slightly startled.

Her hook didn't able to attach on the trunk, it just bounced on it. The titan was coming towards her as its big dirty hands were ready to grab her quickly. She tried to shoot again but it was too late.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed but still able to swung her blades and cut the fingers of the titan's right hand that was holding her. When she escaped from its grip, the other hand grabbed her again before she could attach her cable on the nearest tree. This time, her blades have been damaged and she wasn't able to change it because of the grip on her body.

"Petra!" Erdo called out worrying but he has to turn down the new titan which just appeared before him.

She couldn't move freely. The titan opened its mouth and she could already smell its foul breath. Her smooth eyebrows were twitched in anger but she couldn't do anything to free herself. This one was crucial but she tried to think of a way to escape. She yelled with blazing determination and stabbed her two blades on the titan's eyes in front of her.

The giant creature cried in pain but it didn't let her go. She continued to slit her blade from its eyes down its cheeks. Blood splattered all over her and the hot smoke started to blur her surroundings. The titan's grip tightened which made her gasped air. Her body was getting squeezed tighter and tighter.

"I couldn't..." she said with her teeth gritting, "...afford to lose with a brainless asshole like you!"

While the titan struggled in pain because of its wounded face, its hand was being cut off which freed her from its tight grip. She didn't expect it. Before she hit the ground, an arm was wrapped on her waist and carried her, sack of potato style, and they landed on a huge tree bark.

When she looked at the one who rescued her, "You're killing yourself." The guy in an undercut said with twitched eyebrows.

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**A/N: I set aside the lovey dovey moments. I think it's not best to have that moment in the battlefield. Haha, but yes, I might include it on the next chapter. Anyways, tell me what you think of this update. I'll be glad to know it.**


	9. Focus

**Author's Note: Hi. Sorry for the long wait. I am really occupied with school stuffs for the past weeks and some relatives died so I have to be still for a while.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"Auruo!" Petra exclaimed, merely surprised, when she saw her comrade's wrinkled face and undercut hair.

"What happened to you?" he asked in a rude tone but worry was still reflecting in his eyes.

She shook her head and sat with her knees on the wood. She was shaking because of the impact of the grip on her body earlier. She looked down to watch Levi, Gunther and Erdo got themselves busy on the battlefield. She couldn't figure out why did it happen to her earlier. Why did her hook couldn't able to attach on the trunk?

_'Why_ _in times like this?'_ she asked herself and changed her damaged blades to new set of sharp ones.

Earlier, Gunther was grabbed by a titan, he immediately escaped from its grip since he was able to slice its fingers before it could squeeze him. He then maneuvered and aimed for the nape and sliced it deeply. For that, Auruo chose to go to where Petra was since she's the one nearest to him. Along with it, her condition was crucial and her blades were damaged. Worst of it, her gas was only a quarter filled. On the other hand, when a new titan appeared before Erdo, he immediately took it down, setting aside his female comrade's situation because he saw his comrades coming to rescue her.

"Auruo." Petra said.

"What?" he asked. His attention was focused on where their comrades were.

"Thank you." she said though it's against her will to show gratitude to him.

He raised an eyebrow and was a bit surprised. "Huh? Thanks for what?"

"For saving me, idiot!" she replied, quite pissed for Auruo's slow processing brain.

He scratched his head. "It's nothing. You should be more thankful to Levi Heichou. If he didn't cut the titan's hand, I wouldn't be able to get you out there." he confessed.

Upon hearing it, Petra was stunned for a moment and her mouth slightly opened. Her amber gaze drifted to the man she admires who was currently making his way on the trees and went to where they were standing, along with Erdo and Gunther.

"Petra!" the two men said in angst.

"What happened to you?" Erdo asked her.

She couldn't respond immediately. Her eyes were fixed on Levi who was looking at her.

"H-heichou." she said, afraid that her corporal might be disappointed.

Levi stood in front of her while maintaining an eye contact.

Her body was still trembling but she pushed herself to stand and be strong. Despite of her femininity, she has to show them that they weren't differing in strength.

When the corporal saw that she could still manage to stand, "Let's go." he said.

It was their fifth time to be in an operation, apparently the Levi squad's fifth expedition all together. They don't lack trainings, rather there were just unexpected situations that put them to risk. On Petra's case, she couldn't focus when all she could think was the gas on her gear.

They whistled to gather their horses that fled from the woods nearby. While calling for her horse, she kept on asking herself many things.

_'Seriously, Petra Ral, why can't you focus on this expedition? It's just gas! Don't let your guard down, okay? The corporal is watching you, remember?'_ she told herself and grabbed the rein of her horse and saddled on it. She started to feel the aching muscles while on a horseback ride.

Any moment, they saw a signal on the east which means Erwin's squad stopped at a certain area. It was a relief for her so she could take some rest and a first aid.

They were travelling for about three kilometers when Gunther shouted.

"Titans! Two at the back approaching!"

"Tch." Levi tensed, "Keep going. We need to reach the location of the smoke before it fades in mid-air."

"Yes, Sir!" the four replied.

Deep in Petra's thoughts, she was grateful that their corporal didn't order them to switch on 3DMG again. If that's the case, she'd be in trouble again.

"Petra, fire it." Levi commanded her.

"Ah..! Yes, Sir!" she replied, quite surprised, and fired another red ammo for the nearby squads to see. They continued the mission with their horses as they travel in a faster pace.

"They're coming in, Heichou!" Gunther exclaimed, pertaining to the titans who were running towards them.

"Damn brainless faggots. I guess I have no choice." the corporal said with an irritated voice. "Switch to 3D Maneuver Gear!"

_'For Sina's sake!'_ Petra told herself in a horrified facial expression.

There was the rear part of the Forest of Giant Trees so it would be quite easy for them to switch to their gears again. She couldn't move freely because of the muscle pain that she kept on enduring. Auruo and Erdo started on the first titan that was approaching. They cut the legs and arms so it wouldn't be able to move and grab them. Auruo maneuvered from its falling body and cut the nape of the titan. However, Gunther called out Petra when he noticed her spacing out in the air.

"Stay focus, Petra!" he yelled and shot his cable on the other titan's back.

She hesitated to shoot her cable and stopped on a tree nearby. At this rate, she has to limit every action. As she stood on the bark up high, Levi shouted.

"Petra! Assist!"

She looked at him with repressed fear at the back of her mind, and flew in mid-air to strike the titan's arms. She easily cut them off in seconds which made it easier for Gunther to turn it down.

"Hurry! We have to reach the smoke signal! We have three minutes left!" Levi told his squad.

"In 3D Maneuver Gear?" Auruo asked him.

"Yes." the corporal replied. "The horses will follow us."

Petra's face was mortified but she continued to go with the flow. She quietly swayed on the branches of the trees while looking straight ahead.

_'The commander's location is about a kilometer away. I can still make it.'_ she nailed her eyes on the corporal's back, _'Have faith, Petra! Don't humiliate yourself.'_ she told herself deterministically.

They successfully reached the area where Erwin's squad and the carriages stopped over and there's Mike on top of a roof of a destroyed house. The area was a devastated small village with foul odor blending in the air because of the decaying human body parts scattered around. Hands, legs, head and other small body parts were on the dirty ground left by titans, maybe about four months ago.

"Thank goodness, weー" Petra's statement was interrupted. Her comrades (excluding Levi) shouted her name in synchrony.

"Petra!"

She rolled on the dirty ground like a ball and her landing wasn't the clean one. Her gas ran out and it was totally empty. At least, she was able to reach their destination safely.

"I-It hurts." she said under her breath while cupping her head as she helped herself to sit in posture.

"I see." Levi said from behind, walking towards her.

She immediately turned her head to look at him.

"All this time, you keep on thinking of running out of gas."

Petra bit her lower lip. "I lied." she confessed, "I lied to the squad. I'm sorry. I was too busy preparing the squad's essentials, I forgot to fill my gas when Hanji-san called us."

"Drop it. Fill your gas now." he ordered and offered his hand. She looked at him with surprised eyes. She thought he was going to punish her or tell her harsh words but he didn't mind it. How could he figure out that she couldn't stand by her own for offering his hand?

"Get up." he said gently.

She reached out her hand to grab his. Levi pulled her so she could be able to stand. As long as she was able to stand on her feet, he pulled her a bit closer to him and whispered.

"Next time, don't lie to me."

A slight curve was drawn at the corner of her lips as she tried to hide her shame. "I've already had two next times on you, Sir. You even saved me from the titan's grip. Thank you."

He poked her forehead. "You're clumsy. You should focus on the expedition."

"Yes, Sir!" she replied while nodding her head up and down.

"Very well." Levi said.

When they were about to walk together, Mike blocked their way.

"I smell..." he began while sniffing at his best, "...something here..."

Petra's sweat dropped from her temple down to the side of her cheeks while the corporal wore his poker face. Mike sniffed her.

"Oi." Levi said with twitched eyebrows while giving Mike a deadly glare as if saying, "Try to come closer to Petra or I'll tear your nose away from your mustache."

The sniffing man stood in front of her and said, "You landed on the decaying human body parts, gingerbread. Change your clothes over there."

"E-eh? Y-yes, Sir." she replied and saluted in respect of Mike. When she looked at her hands, it was so gross and dirty. She took a quick glance on her corporal and then went to where the other soldiers were guarding the carriages of essentials/personal things of each squads.

_'Levi Heichou held my hand though it's so gross and dirty!'_ she said at the back of her mind.

"What the hell are you up to?" Levi asked the sniffing man.

Mike looked at the short guy before him. "I can smell funny things that ordinary humans can't." he answered, "I thought you dislike it when your hands get dirty." he added and walked away.

The corporal looked at his dirty hands, thanks to Petra. He got his handkerchief and wiped it off.

"Levi." Erwin called out from behind him.

He turned around to see the blond commander. "What is it?" he asked.

"I see what you did there." Erwin said which made the corporal's eyes a bit wide and a slight surprise was drawn on his face.

_'Damn it, fuzzy eyebrows.'_ he said at the back of his mind.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated. Tell me if the characters are OOC****.**


	10. Alibi

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"I just did what I know is damn right."

Levi wasn't looking at Erwin when he said it. He doesn't know what the blond commander saw earlier. Was it about the moment when he pulled Petra closer to him?

"Do you want to tell me something, then?" Erwin asked with a serious look on his face. His blond, thick eyebrows were quite distracting.

Levi looked at him. "My shit successfully came out before the expedition." he replied jokingly but since it's the worst talent that he ever possessed, the atmosphere became awkward.

For some reason, Erwin felt like a nerve wanted to pop out of his temple but he brushed the annoying air away. "I see. That's good for you."

A dying wind suddenly blew over them and the sounding crickets hymned to interrupt the incoming awkward silence.

"Your wig is sliding off, Erwin. It's annoying." Levi said, "By the way, you should drink more water to avoid constipation." He then turned his back and left.

The blond commander let out a sigh. "Mike." He called out the sniffing man who was eavesdropping around.

They planned to corner Levi and ask him about something involving Hanji's hypothesis. The sniffing man came out.

"Warnings are red. Retreats are blue." Mike said.

"What now?" Erwin asked.

"Love is in the corner," Mike paused for a moment to sniff, "And titans too." He looked at the distance. "I can smell it, Erwin."

Erwin gave him a void look. "I see."

"Petra," Hanji called out when she saw the light ginger haired lady came out of the tent. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Petra blinked and nodded. They were standing outside the tent that they set up for the meantime. The buntaichou grinned before she began her statement.

"What do you think of Levi?"

Petra immediately blushed but she tried to compensate on her reaction. "He is humanity's strongest soldier."

Hanji raised her eyebrow. "And?"

"He's a good squad leader to us."

"And?"

Petra twitched her eyebrows anxiously. "He is a clean freak."

"And? And? And?" Hanji scratched her head impatiently with both hands.

"He is short." Petra answered innocently.

"Gracious walls!" Hanji blurted out. She wasn't satisfied with Petra's answers and her extreme longing to hear something sweet and passionate words were in vain. "Say something realistic, will you?! And stop faking good!"

"Faking good?" Petra asked. She has no idea what Hanji is up to.

"Can't you even tell me that Levi is hot when his button up shirt is half unbuttoned. Levi is the most admirable man in my life. I want to marry Levi. Something like that!" Hanji yelled before her.

Petra's lips suddenly turned pale upon hearing Hanji's statements. She didn't speak a word and just remained standing on the ground merely flustered. Did Hanji hear her self-talk while daydreaming in her room last night? Hanji held her shoulders and looked at her amber colored eyes. Petra blinked twice and shifted her gaze to other direction. Hanji's eyes behind her intelligent glasses were frightening.

"Oi, shit glasses. What are you up to?" Levi suddenly interrupted the moment.

Hanji let go of Petra's shoulders and adjusted her glasses. "Do you really want to know?" she confirmed.

"Tch. No thanks." He answered and glanced to his only female squad member. "You're getting pale, Petra." he noticed upon shifting his gaze on her lips.

Hanji ran away quickly while grinning. She has to announce some good data that she gathered on her investigation team.

"I'm fine." Petra responded while trying to control her struggling heartbeat due to Hanji's questions. Levi walked closer towards her and placed his hand on her forehead.

"You're cold too." He said and quickly removed his fragrant hand on her cold, nervous skin. _'That shit glasses.'_

He heard the whole conversation while hiding behind the tent. He knew that Hanji would ask embarrassing questions but he never expected it to be that way. The 'I want to marry Levi' thing made his eyebrows twitched.

"Am I?" She sheepishly said while looking at his narrow eyes.

A sound of a flare gun suddenly echoed throughout their area which distracted them and all the soldiers around. Thanks to Mike's powerful nose detector of titans. Everybody was alarmed and rode their horses when Erwin shouted to pack up.

"Darn it." Levi muttered under his breath and they started to retreat the place.

Their expedition continued through marvelous plains and majestic mountains for several weeks of struggling, increased numbers of casualties and Hanji's extreme yearning to capture titans for experimentation. Sadly, she didn't able to catch anything and Erwin fired the retreat signal flare for the whole corps to know that the mission has ended.

"Another mission failed." Auruo sighed.

Petra elbowed her that made him look on her direction.

"Don't twitch your thin eyebrows on me." He told her.

"You two!" Gunther called out, "Let's go."

They were somewhere in the rear area of the Forest of Giant Trees and just killed several titans a few minutes earlier. Riding back on their horses, they joined the legion and went back to the district dejectedly.

"In Karanese?" Erdo asked.

"The commander has to report to the authority." Moblit replied when they were near the said district.

"Oi, Petra, isn't Karanese your hometown?" Erdo inquired.

Petra, who was currently spacing out, didn't able to answer so Gunther yelled at her. "Petra!"

She went back to her senses. "Y-yes, Gunther-san?" she replied.

"Daydreaming." The men whispered in synchrony.

"What?" she asked her comrades.

"We're heading to Karanese District. Isn't that your hometown?" Erdo asked.

Her eyes brighten up and she became excited. 'I hope I can go home and visit my father.' She told herself. "Yes." She answered happily.

On the other hand, Levi was secretly staring at her in the distance.

'Karanese, huh?' he said at the back of his mind.

The gate opened and the usual mocking faces of people welcomed them. Insults and crying lingered in the atmosphere during their parade which made them gloomier. Mothers and other family members cried and mourned over the deceased soldiers who were just being recovered from the mission. When they stopped in the infirmary for medication, Erwin went to the authority to report about the mission. Hanji and Levi accompanied him but they just waited on the lobby.

"So Levi," Hanji started the conversation, "What are you planning to do now?"

"Nothing." He replied shortly.

She snorted. "You're a boring person."

"You should take a bath." He sarcastically blurted out for no reason.

Hanji dropped his statement, adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "I will explore the whole district. Wanna come?"

He didn't reply and remained emotionless.

"Isn't it exciting?" she asked.

He still remained quiet.

"I see." Hanji said smirking.

"What?" Levi asked to confirm what she was trying to say.

She stood on the couch and inhaled the almost dying air in their midst. "Nevermind." She replied and turned to Erwin who was walking towards them. "What are you planning to do now, Erwin?"

"I need to work with papers in my office." Erwin said.

"Okay. Good luck. I have to do some research." She said and they parted ways to where they wanted to go.

Erwin released an order for all the Survey Corps soldiers to have a week of vacation. He also needed time to investigate and plan for his agenda.

The next morning, Petra excitedly changed into casual clothes because she was planning to have a good time by herself while wandering around her district. She missed her hometown. When she left the door, she was surprised to see Levi leaning on the wall.

"Levi Heichou. Good morning!" She greeted.

"Are you going home?" he asked.

"Yes, tomorrow. I want to surprise my family." She answered with a smile.

He stared at her from head to feet, then back to her head, because he rarely sees her in casual attire. Petra felt conscious about herself.

"Do I have dirt on my face?" she asked him.

"No." he answered.

A long awkward silence embraced them while staring at each other. After some fateful seconds, Levi broke the silence.

"This is your hometown, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"I am planning to look for black tea." He said.

"I will go to town right now. Do you want to come with me?" Petra offered.

"That's what I want to tell you." He wanted to say but that would be awkward and weird so he thought of a safer answer. "Interesting idea." He finally said and they walked together outside the HQ.

They remained silent since they started walking together. While on the street corner, Hanji was giggling while writing on her notepad. She started to track them since they left the HQ to gather more data that she was planning to slap on Erwin's face. Thanks to her investigation team who left her alone in her data gathering.

'I'm going to convince Erwin to get rid of his freaking relationship rule.' She told herself.

While stalking Levi and Petra, she didn't notice her way and bumped to a tall, blond man, and her glasses fell on the ground.

"Uh, I'm sorry." She apologized without looking at the man and picked her glasses.

"Hanji?" the man asked in a surprised tone.

"Huh?" she raised her head to see the man who just called her name. "Hey! I thought-!"

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**Author's Note: I am like a turtle on my update****s**** but thank you for the reviews. So sorry, I didn't notice that I haven't updated for a month. I AM SO BUSY. I hope you like this chapter. Reviews are well appreciated****.**


	11. Suspicion

**Author's Note: I'm back! I am very sorry for updating so late but please be reminded that I am not dead on my stories. Thank you for all the reviews, alerts and favorites. Also, thank you fifi for noticing Mike's "love is in the corner and titans too" on Chapter 10. That is actually one of my favorite lines in this story.**

**I used different tenses on the first and second part of this chapter because of reasons. It's****still ****readable and ****understandable though****, I guess****.**** Lol. If there are grammar errors, please bear with it. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

Levi quickly turns his gaze on the street when his ears catches suspicious people following them. He almost catches Hanji and the tall, blond guy in the street corner but they make it in time to hide on the nearby passage between the buildings. His narrow eyes scan the area but he gets distracted when Petra asks him.

"Sir? Is there a problem?"

He shakes his head. "I smell shits nearby."

She wants to make herself believe that everything is alright and he is just irritated by the horse dung on the road. Nevertheless, she shrugs and continues to walk with him.

"Hey!"

Someone is shouting behind them. Levi didn't bother himself to look but Petra does and she is kind of surprised on what she saw.

"Get back here, assholes!"

"L-Levi Heichou…?" Petra says, her voice seems to be slightly surprised. She doesn't know if she'd be happy or confused.

"What?" Levi asks and looks at her, merely puzzled on her stuttering voice.

She points something behind so he shifts his gaze to the one her index finger is pointing at; he halts on his feet.

A little boy is running towards them, he is chasing a little boy and a little girl who seem to have done him wrong.

"Give me back my bread!" the little boy yells angrily, eyes are flaming in fury.

He runs swiftly, passing by Levi and Petra who are watching the scenario.

"Brats." Levi says and continues walking, Petra follows him.

He is reminded of his childhood when his uncle started to take care of him. He is distracted when Petra lets out a chuckle.

"The boy…" she says, looking at the little boy.

"What's with the brat?" he asks her as they both walk together by the bridge.

"He's furious and desperate. I think we need to do something." She suggests.

He taps her head with his right hand and slightly messes it, and then he sighs. "Let the brats mind their own business."

Petra smiles. "Okay."

When they reached the end of the bridge, the kids run towards Levi and hide behind him.

"Help! He's gonna hurt us." The little girl says, quite afraid.

"Hey, mister!" the little furious boy yells at Levi. "Don't help them! They stole my bread!"

"Oh! He looks like you, Heichou." Petra says happily when she focused her sight on the face of the little furious boy who's standing before the corporal.

When Levi didn't move from his place, the two kids who are hiding behind him run quickly to escape. The furious little boy must have run to catch them but Levi catches the back of his shirt and stops him.

"Quit chasing them. You'll just waste your time."

Petra is surprised to what he did. She thinks he's not good in dealing with kids.

"It's your fault!" the little boy who is getting more furious yells at Levi again. He starts to make kiddy punches on his stomach.

"No, it's not." the corporal replies flatly.

"I hate you!"

"So what?"

Before anything worse happen, Petra stops them by talking to the little boy, giving Levi a let-me-handle-this smile and turned her gaze to the kid.

"Hold it there, cutie." She starts and leans forward, "Why don't you come with us? We'll buy bread in the most delicious bread shop in town."

"Really?" the little boy asks in confirmation, eyes suddenly glitter in excitement. "Heard that? She will buy me bread!" he asks Levi.

"Tch." He tenses in slight annoyance.

The little boy sticks out his tongue at the corporal and faces Petra again. "Wait a minute. I'll tell old man." He says and steals a kiss on her cheek that surprised her. "Thank you."

Petra blushes while Levi twitches his eyebrows.

"Is it okay if he joins us, Sir?" she asks him when the little boy ran to a certain house nearby.

"Hm. Whatever." He replies flatly.

"Are you pissed?" she asks curiously, studying her corporal's twitched eyebrows.

He shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest.

The little boy comes back running after telling his grandfather about the bread that Petra promised him. Even if Levi doesn't want him to join them, he can't complain. He is planning to ask Petra out and use black tea as an alibi but the little boy who looks like him ruined his plan. He accepts it anyway.

"Shall we go now?" Petra asks.

The little boy nods in excitement. He's a bit surprised when Levi carries him in his shoulders.

"You're a troublesome brat." He says and they start walking.

Petra starts to tell Levi some facts and trivia about the district. He doesn't listen that much because he keeps on staring at her face. When she seems to have finished her short lecture about Karanese district, the little boy distracts Levi from his thoughts.

"Mister, your wife is pretty, kind and smart." he tells him while lightly strangling his hair.

Petra's face turns red upon hearing the boy's statement. "I'm no-"

Levi nods absentmindedly.

"Heichou!" Petra exclaims in disagreement.

The little boy might believe in a lie, and gossip might spread like wild fire in their town. She's a bit scared of being the center of issue especially when her father doesn't know anything about it.

"Mister," the little boy calls Levi, "I still hate you, okay? But, can I ask a question?"

"Go ahead." Levi says flatly.

"Are you one of the district's pig?" the little boy asks bluntly.

Though he's just a boy, he cares about politics, the monarchial issue, the Military, and people's lifestyle. He wants to know if Levi is a merchant or just a random citizen of the district. If he's filthy rich, he would hate him too just as how he hates merchants since he witnessed how those swines let the people of Karanese district scarce of food and necessities.

"No." he replies with a scowl. "Do I look like a pig to you?"

"Hmm," he thinks, "No because you are too short and young for a typical pig. You are also constant." the little boy replies with innocence. What he means constant is Levi's furrow beneath his intimidating eyes.

"I am not intimidated by height, brat."

Small veins are starting to pop on his temple.

"Whatever. So you are tourists from other district." the little boy assumes, enjoying the coziness on Levi's shoulders. It is actually his first time to ride on someone's shoulders.

"This is my wife's hometown." Levi doesn't seem to look like joking. He is quite good in pretending things like what? Petra's husband?

However, Petra just can't believe that her corporal knows how to make fun of an innocent kid and rides on faux relationship. On the other hand, she thinks that he is good in making pranks. But the thought of him addressing her as his wife is a very big deal. Levi is not the joker type of guy but when he does, that is very awkward and unusual.

The little boy scratches his head and looks at her, "Hey lady, what's wrong with your husband?"

"Why?" Petra asks as the feeling of awkwardness starts to creep on her system. She is not used to this kind of set-up. Levi as his husband is her biggest dream but that is far from reality, at least that's what she thinks.

"He is a boring asshole. Look at him. He doesn't look normal and always scowls at me. I still hate him."

She blinks thrice. 'He must be a mini-Levi.' she tells to herself. The little boy's feature and the way he speaks seems like a young corporal Levi Ackerman. Just forget about the cravat.

'What the hell is with this brat?' Levi says at the back of his mind.

Petra glances at her corporal and lets out a sweet smirk. "He is not an asshole. But I agree that he is not normal. Did you know that he can kill 10 titans in a minute?"

'I can kill them in 10 seconds.' he comments to himself and slightly rolls his narrow eyes.

"Titans!" the little boy exclaims, "Do you mean he is a soldier? So he goes outside those shitty walls?"

"Yes, he does." she replies with a nod. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"So you're a soldier, Mister." he says and strangles his little fingers on Levi's hair, "You're cool! So what does titans look like?"

"They are huge, funny and cute." Levi replies in a monotone but this time, it's the the little boy's turn to scowl.

"Liar." he says while wrinkling his nose. He has heard rumors about what titans look like but never had a chance to see one.

Levi puts him down from his shoulders. "Shut up and stay closer." he says and with a slight twitch on his eyebrows, he drapes his arm on Petra's shoulder and tugs her closer. "It's better to get rid of the brat and bring him back." he whispers simply.

Petra lets out a small laugh. "I think he just likes you now, Sir. And we need to buy him bread just as I promised." She whispers back and thinks that Levi is starting to get rid of his miniature.

"Alright then, we'll stick to my plan." he says with serious expression and points his index finger at her, "You are my wife," he points at himself, "I am your husband," and points at his miniature. "He is our brat. Is it clear?"

'Plan? What plan?' Petra suddenly feels nervous. So the pretension is real and it dawns on her that something isn't quite right. "I don't get it." she whispers and takes a quick glance on the little boy.

"Simply look at the street corners, Petra." he whispers and her eyes simply scans the streets.

Her sight catches several men who are known to be members of a child trafficking group in the district. Hand drawn pictures of their faces are posted all around and Levi's keen eyes help them to save the little boy. That is his only reason why he allows his 'mini-me' to join them when the little boy approached them a moment ago. He knows that they are being followed.

* * *

Before leaving the headquarters, Hanji heard that Mike would help Erwin with some planning for the new long distance formation so she was surprised to see him on the streets. Several hypotheses instantly formulated on her mind.

"Mike." she confronted, "Erwin ordered you to follow them, didn't he?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, forming several humps between his eyebrows. He missed her point.

Hanji put her hands over her waist. "Don't be silly. You're aware of Levi's issue, aren't you? And Erwin's relationship rule is kicking my ass."

She looked at the corporal's direction and Mike figured out what she was talking about. He sniffed and a slight smile was painted on his lips.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that freaking issue but..." he answered and thought for a moment.

Hanji waited for his next statements. She stared at him for about five...six...seven seconds until she lost patience and asked, "What?"

"You sure we still have that relationship rule?"

Hanji blinked twice and thought for a second as she placed her right hand below her chin. Is she trying to break rules that do not exist anymore? She might be overthinking for the past weeks or Mike was just doing some pranks.

Mike let out a sigh when she remained silent. "Look at you. You don't exactly know what you're fighting for."

She snorted. "Shut up, Mike. You can't understand."

"As far as I can see," he said while watching Levi and Petra who were walking at the distance, "Everything is going the way it should be."

"HA! That's the point in all of this stalking and data gathering!" she exclaimed happily. Hoping that he was with her gig.

He shrugged. "I don't care." he said, "Just like titans, you seem to be so obsessed with those shorties."

"I'm just helping them." she tried to defend herself.

"What a bother. You don't even know what they really feel for each other. You are just a shipper."

Mike has a point and Hanji knew it herself. Nevertheless, the denial won its battle inside her mind.

"Oh well..." she said under her breath. Mike might be good for a simple debate and she doesn't want to lose so she quickly shifted the topic. "So what about the constitutional section about romantic relationship?"

"That was actually blotted out during the revision." he replied, "It has been ratified by the higher authority over five years ago."

"Crap." Hanji mumbled. 'Did I read the old constitution?'

"I am not against anyone's opinion. And I know that you're not a stupid woman. I just can't figure out what you are exactly up to but I find it quite absurd soー"

"Give me a copy of the ratified constitution!" Hanji told him, 'Damn Erwin, are you making fun of me or you're just too selfish? You hopeless romantic bachelor.' she told herself quite annoyed.

She wanted to convince herself that what she was doing for several weeks weren't in vain. That if relationship rules do not really exist, she would be very willing to slap on Erwin's face the fact that Levi and Petra would be a good couple against all odds because soldiers have the right to love, at least in her opinion. Though everybody couldn't understand her campaign, she would explain everything when all of her plans and studies about relationship and soldiers succeeded.

"I have to go somewhere. Get a copy in the library." Mike said and started to walk passed her. Before he turned to the street corner, he stopped and looked back at her over his shoulder, "You can't blame Erwin if he is not in favor of forming romantic relationship among the soldiers of the corps. Why? Because he himself is single, and so you are."

"You're right! And that's what I've been fighting for!" Hanji replied with clenched fist. "The rule has been blotted out but he still forbids it because he is an old bachelor."

Mike turned towards Hanji's pace. "Alright, let's say the relationship issue has been resolved. But this is what I am thinking about. If one of them die during the expedition, what would be the aftermath?"

"We will all die anyway so why not give freedom to build personal relationship before it's too late."

"Are you conducting a study without your participant's consent?" he asked curiously.

"I do have permission and my study is all about Levi's taste of women. He already signed a waiver about several months ago." she replied with pride.

Mike sighed. "You know Hanji, you should stop stalking other's affair and find a boyfriend." he said and turned his back. Everything was clear to him now. Hanji's study was legal. He thought she was conducting a study on her own will.

"Geez." she tried to internalize what he told her as she stared blankly at the notepad that she was holding.

"Find a boyfriend huh?" she said under her breath and looked at Levi and Petra who were walking on the street.

She walked on the sidewalk to look after them but her four eyes caught several suspicious men hiding on the streets and posts. They seemed to be following Levi and Petra. Suddenly, she heard children's scream and sobbing on the nearby dark passage between the nearest building. There were few carriages that seemed waiting for something or some people. Not until a poster blown by the wind passed before her sight, a realization caught her. She knew exactly what was going on, but she needed back ups. It was another case to deal with.

* * *

**Author's Note: I don't know if it's worth the read after I made you wait for six months. Please review.**


	12. Arrested

**Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for the reviews, new follows and favorites. You are my inspiration. If you happen to find some spelling and grammar errors, please bear with it for a while. I'll edit them later. **

**Let's keep the Rivetra ship sailing! Happy one year for A Thug Life of Loving You fanfiction! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

ー進撃 の 巨人ー

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

"What do you think of this broomstick, Eld?" Gunther asked, holding a broomstick in his han and carefully checking its quality.

Eld got it from him and checked it too. "This is the brand that we bought in Trost last month, isn't it?" He said, recalling how Petra and Oluo argued who among them would accompany the corporal in the marketplace to buy cleaning materials. In the end, Levi ordered the whole squad to go with him.

"I can't believe Karanese sells the same brand. I thought their products are shitty." Oluo mumbled but Gunther socled him when few people, especially the owner of the store, glowered to them.

"It must be another branch." Eld speculated while searching for more reliable cleaning products and laundry detergents.

They were going to buy new cleaning supplies before Levi could order them to shop in town. Petra would be going home tomorrow so it's obviously their turn to clean everything that he has been entrusted to her care–wash the dishes and clean their squad's messes.

As they got themselves busy on finding the right brands that might suit Levi's taste, the thought of Hanji's study crossed Gunther's mind. He was suddenly reminded of what she told them when they were in the castle a few days ago.

"Aren't we suppose to be with Hanji-san today?" he asked them.

Oluo shrugged.

"It's day-off so we're free from orders for the meantime, unless it's something important. Besides, she left the HQ early this morning so I guess she preffered to do it alone." Eld replied, picked all the cleaning stuff and placed it in the counter. "Oluo, you pay for it."

"Why me?" Oluo protested.

"We paid last time. It's your turn now." Eld said.

Gunther just stood beside the counter and nodded in agreement. They left the store with the supplies when Gunther's eyes caught a familiar person across the street.

"Hanji-san?" He said that made the two men looked to where he was looking at.

"Yeah it's her. Isn't she supposed to follow Petra and Levi-heichou?" Eld asked them.

The two looked at him squinting. "So they're on a date now?" they asked in unison.

Eld just gave them an innocent grin. They were interrupted when Hanji shouted at them.

"Hey, Levi Squad!"

There was something on her voice that doesn't sound like the usual carefree buntaichou. She crosses the street and told them about the carriages parked in the nearby corner.

"Exactly as how you anticipated the situation…" Mike came out from behind and sniffed. "It's child trafficking."

"Oluo, will you go back to the HQ and report this to Erwin?" Hanji asked.

He nodded, he would also bring the supplies to the storage room. Mike went with him so he could tell to Erwin the details that he gathered when he passed by the carriages. Even if they were soldiers, they couldn't take quick actions because it's the MP's job for peace and order, and titans were not involved. However, the MP doesn't seem to pay attention or they were not aware of the illegal action that has been taking place all over the district.

ー進撃 の 巨人ー

"You assholes should join the Survey Corps and help Hanji in titan trafficking."

Four men with huge bodies were beaten in the ground and Levi started lecturing them about joining the corps and be useful to humanity. Petra was just standing behind him with the little boy who was almost kidnapped by those men.

They were walking and buying bread in town when the little boy went to see a toy shop nearby. Petra and Levi didn't notice it because they were focused on choosing the right bread that they were planning to eat when they get back to the HQ. She preferred lemonsquare cheesecake but he wanted a wheat bread that has low calorie. When they were about to finally decide what to buy, Petra noticed that the little boy was missing. Levi saw him getting dragged in the carriage parked just few meters away so he went to save him.

"Take that, hooligans!" the boy said, proud and amazed of how Levi beat all the men despite of his short stature.

"Hey you!" a Military Police officer suddenly came running towards them, pointing his finger to Levi.

He looked and saw that it was one of Nile Dok's subordinates. Other two officers the same age as Petra were with him.

'Sir, it's Levi of the Survey Corps.' One of the two officers whispered to their commanding officer.

They felt afraid but pretended that they were stronger and superior than the corporal.

"You beat these men?" the MP asked Levi, though the answer was pretty obvious.

"Yeah! He's strong isn't it?" the boy was the one who answered.

Levi kept silent while looking at the MP.

"You come with us, shortie." The MP ordered, trying to sound powerful and intimidating.

Levi's eyebrows twitched. "And why the hell will I come with you?"

The MP gave him an insulting look. "No more questions! Just go! Handcuff him!"

Petra was surprised to what the MP said so she protested and went to talk to him. Levi just kept standing there as the two officers couldn't dare to lay a finger on him. They were afraid that they too might get hurt by the infamous thug in the underground.

"Are you kidding us? He saved this child from those traffickers!" Petra exclaimed to the MP's face while pointing her index finger to the four men lying on the ground.

"Be quiet, lady. We can arrest you too for kidnapping that kid." The MP replied, "We saw you forcing him to go with you. You think we're idiot not to see that, huh?"

"What? Are you crazy?" she asked, both confused and angry, "Heichou!" she called out.

She doesn't need to say anything. Levi certainly knew what to do even if Petra just called him that way. When she called, one word is enough for him to take action and save her.

"Ignorant people have thousand words to say than those who've witnessed the exact situation. Arresting me for beating thsese assholes won't help for your promotion. However, it's useless to explain, you won't listen anyway." Levi said, "So…" he stepped one foot forward and the MPs stepped backwards in fear. "I'll go with you."

The MP officer gave him a perplexed grin. "Good."

"But I have two conditions." Levi said before Petra could complain. "First, no MP should dare to touch her." He pointed a finger to her./ "Second, no handcuffs." And he glowered at the two officers holding handcuffs.

"But Levi-heichou…"

Levi shot her a meaningful look. The MP got the little boy from her and took him with them along with her corporal. She doesn't know what to do especially the moment when Levi and the kid entered the MP's carriage. It was supposed to be an unofficial date with a bit of family roleplay but assholes suddenly came and ruined everything.

ー進撃 の 巨人ー

After Hanji asked Eld and Gunther to do her a favor, she rushed and entered a passage between two old buildings to see what was happening on the other side until she found Petra running on the street.

"Petra!" she called out and ran towards her.

When Petra saw Hanji, a hope suddenly painted on her face.

"Hanji-san!" she said and halted before her, panting.

"Where are you going?" Hanji asked.

"I'm going back to the HQ, I gotta report to Commander Erwin."

Hanji's eyebrows twitched. "W-where's Levi?"

"The MP took him as well as the boy. Levi-heichou was arrested because of beating four civilians who are known to be child traffickers." Petra briefly explained.

"What?"

Petra tilted her head and held Hanji's hand. "Come on, we gotta do something."

"Wait a second, gorgeous lady. I have a plan." Hanji said to calm her down. Petra let go of her hand and was a little anxious. She gave her a worried glance.

Hanji smiled and asked, "You really are worried about him, aren't you?"

Petra slightly blushed and dodged glances. "Of course, he is my commanding officer."

'She's still faking it good. When will she confess her true feelings?' Hanji told herself and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. He's worth ten thousand soldiers who can kill ten titans in ten seconds. What can MPs do to him?"

Petra smiled faintly.

"Hanji-san!" Eld suddenly appeared out of the blue, Gunther was standing beside him. "It's been settled."

Hanji looked at them and nodded when she heard their brief report. "Alright! Now let's go and see what is happening." She said and grabbed Petra's wrist.

ー進撃 の 巨人ー

"Levi Ackerman of the Survey Corps…" the MP's commanding officer in Karanese District said while reading the MP officers' report who arrested him. "Are you tired of killing titans so you shifted your interest to beating humans?"

Levi stared at him. 'Bitch please.' He told herself but didn't speak.

"Answer me, shortie." The commanding officer said who was sitting across him in the table.

"No." Levi answered, "Now let me ask you a question, officer." He said. The commanding officer's sweat dropped. "Do you have a child?"

The MPs who were listening got perplexed on his question.

"Y-yes." The officer answered.

Levi crossed his arms over his chest. "The brats of this town are taken inside the carriages of child traffickers. What if your child is one of them, officer?"

The MP's commanding officer got up from his chair and glared at his subordinates. "You didn't report that to me, idiots!"

And he started to make an action, leaving Levi in the interrogation room.

'Fools.' Levi commented and looked at the little boy who was silently crying at the corner. "Hey, brat." He called.

The little boy slowly raised his head and looked at him. "What?" he asked.

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't know." The boy replied.

Levi didn't ask anything upon hearing his answer. Suddenly, he heard familiar voices outside the room talking with two MP officers.

"Erwin?"

ー進撃 の 巨人ー

**Author's Note: Less cheesy Rivetra moments for this chapter. Brace yourselves for the next chapters. I hope you'll stay with me until the end. Please review. **


	13. Karanese District

**Author's Note: Few more chapters and I'm gonna miss working with this story. Thank you so much everyone for reading this and staying with me 'til now. **

**I am so slow in updating my stories. I am so sorry. And forgive me if there are loopholes in the plot or in the whole story. I might edit it in the future. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. **

* * *

**A Thug Life of Loving You**

There were discussions outside the interrogation room and Levi was starting to lose the smallest amount of patience left in his pocket. The Military Police officers were hesitant to let go of him while it's Erwin who was obviously dealing with his case. He couldn't see what was happening at the other side of the door. But the conversation he's been listening for about half an hour was getting annoying to his ears. Erwin was working on a negotiation again.

"It's eating my time." Levi said under his breath, murmuring some side comments that only he could hear and understand.

For him, the Survey Corps shouldn't be involved and Erwin was just being polite to lend a hand to the MP. Or the second thought, he has something brilliant in mind that might greatly benefit the corps. The commander used to do it anyway. However, the matter is personal at least to him and Petra, because of the little boy who was almost caught by the traffickers. He heard from one of the MPs earlier that the boy's name is L, a deceased military police's son. For some reason, he was wondering why L seemed to be his mini version but he immediately brushed away the thought and crossed his arms over his chest, drowning himself with different other thoughts.

He didn't notice that L stood from the corner of the room and walked towards him. While L was slowly walking towards him with an anxious face, Levi shifted his thoughts from the incident earlier; considering how terrible it was for a child to get involved in child trafficking and irrational interrogation. Also, the silly bread argument in town that he had with Petra got in his nerves. Before his mind could be filled with many 'Petra thoughts', the little boy desperately pulled his sleeves while looking at him. He looked at L.

"What's with the face?" he asked flatly.

"I need to pee." The little boy replied.

Levi stood from his chair. "Follow me."

They walked towards the door and stopped for a moment. He kneeled on one knee and faced L.

"Can you still hold on a little?" he asked the little boy who was fidgeting in front of him.

"No." L replied, shaking his head. "It's coming out."

"Look," Levi said, "when I open this door, I will talk to a colossal blond with monstrous eyebrows. You should ask the police about your problem. If he complains or ignores you, I'll take you with me. If he assists you, it means they'll be the one to bring you home. Is that clear?"

L blinked rapidly, uncomprehending. "I don't get it. I just have to pee. That's all. It's still early to go home."

"Just go with the flow." Levi said and stood with his military boots.

This time, he was on the bridge of bargaining with the child and the situation. He just wanted to get out of everything that was getting on his nerves and buy a black tea with Petra. That's all.

When he opened the door, Erwin and the MP Officer who interrogated him earlier looked at them. He gave them a scowling face.

"Aren't you done with your negotiation?" he asked Erwin.

Before the blond commander could answer, Levi felt a desperate pull in his sleeves that made his eyebrows twitched. He chose to ignore it.

"We're almost done." Erwin replied and looked at the MP Officer, "I'm still waiting for your decision, Officer."

Levi almost rolled his eyes when the MP Officer scratched its head, like it would take him forever to decide.

"What the-! You brat!" one of the MPs near Levi exclaimed angrily until he heard a child's cry.

"Let go of me, assholes!" L shouted as the MP grabbed him at the back of his shirt.

When Levi looked at them, he realized that the little boy did something that made the officer angry. 'What the hell?' he told himself.

L peed on his pants.

"Hey Mister! You told me to just go with the flow!" L shouted at the corporal. "Do something!"

Erwin was a bit surprised when he saw the little boy. His eyes focused on L's face, then to Levi, shifting from each of them.

"What's the meaning of this, Levi?" he finally asked.

"Nothing." Levi replied shortly while slowly walking towards the MP who was grabbing the little boy's shirt. "Put the brat down." He ordered.

The MP immediately put the little boy on the floor.

"Ouch! Damn you!" L yelled.

"Alright. Let's settle this, Erwin." The MP Officer said which caught the commander's attention, "We'll give what you're asking for if your troop clean it well."

"Of course, they will." Erwin assured and nodded at Levi.

The corporal slightly nodded and carried the little boy in one arm. "You're gross, brat." He said but didn't hesitate to carry the little boy.

He followed Erwin outside the building.

"Are you taking me with you, Mister?" L asked innocently.

"Didn't I tell you that earlier?" Levi replied questioningly. "If he complains or ignores you-"

"Yes! You'll take me with you!" he exclaimed happily and hugged his neck, "By the way, where's that lovely lady? Your wife."

Erwin gave Levi a meaningful yet questioning glance.

Levi didn't look at him and chose to answer the little boy's question. "She's out th–" he was cut-off in mid-sentence when he heard Hanji's voice calling Erwin's name.

Hanji was running from the distance, Petra following behind her. They just finished saving another two carriages of children being kidnapped from the other side of town. They explained everything to Erwin while Levi was staring unconsciously at Petra. He noticed some scratches and bruises on her face and arms.

"She's hurt, right?" L whispered to him.

"She's strong." Levi replied confidently.

"Aren't you worried?"

"I'm only human."

L smiled. "Me too! And did you know that my mom is strong too? Just like her."

The corporal looked at the little boy, quite puzzled. "Who's your mother?"

"I already told you I don't know, but old man said she's a soldier."

"She's a soldier too." Levi said, looking at Petra in the distance.

"Is she? Really?" L pointed his finger to Petra, merely puzzled, which caught her attention.

Petra excused herself to Erwin and Hanji, who were discussing the matter, and went to talk to Levi.

"Heichou." She said.

"Your face…" Levi confronted.

"It's just a scratch." She replied, "What happened to the interrogation?"

"They're stupid, as usual."

L sighed. "I hope you're my parents." He said in an exasperated voice.

The two looked at him, then to each other's eyes. But Petra dodged glances because the sudden cringe in her abdomen. Levi put L down and sit on one knee to talk to him.

"You still have to realize important things, brat." The corporal said.

"What are those important things?" the little boy asked innocently.

"First, you have to learn self-control."

"But it's your fault! You said I have to go with the flow so I let it flow."

Petra slightly leaned to Levi. "What's he talking about?" she asked, quite confused.

"It's the pee." Levi answered.

"Oh." She said and chuckled.

The little boy pouted.

"Second, you need discipline." Levi continued his short lecture.

"What is discipline?" L asked innocently, blinking his eyes rapidly.

Petra let out a small laugh and messed the little boy's hair. "You'll learn it as you grow up." And then she whispered, "His discipline is not the standard."

Hanji accidentally looked behind Erwin. She stopped talking about the incident earlier and gestured him to turn and look behind. When Erwin turned and saw the two soldiers, he stared for a moment. He watched them talk with the little boy as if they were a family.

"What can you say, Erwin?" Hanji asked innocently.

"Say about what?" the commander asked casually.

"Levi and Petra." She said.

He gave her a meaningful gaze but he chose to stick with their previous topic–child trafficking. "Tell Mike and the others to report immediately."

She smiled. "Yes, Sir."

And then, he left.

* * *

The Military Police, in collaboration with the Survey Corps, returned each children to their respective homes. Peace and order was restored in Karanese District. And Hanji and her squad along with Levi's squad, except Levi and Petra, went back to their Headquarters.

"I'm home!" L said happily upon entering their house.

It was sunset and the old man was getting busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner. He smiled upon seeing his grandson but he was a little surprised when he saw Levi and Petra standing by the door.

"Good day, Sir." Petra greeted.

"Good day, soldiers. Please come in." he said and welcomed them warmly. He immediately made some tea for them.

"You see, they saved me from the traffickers!" L said with enthusiasm. He even sat on Levi's lap.

The old man was surprised to hear the news. He thanked them for saving his grandson from getting kidnapped. They found out that the only relative left with him was L because his children joined the Survey Corps and didn't come back alive during their failed expeditions. It was almost six years ago.

"I've heard from the MPs that this child's father was a Military Police Officer." Levi said.

The old man nodded. "Yes, but he passed away the day his son was born. His squad said he died but they couldn't let me see his corpse."

Petra gave Levi a meaningful look. There were anomalies that were happening inside the Military Police.

"Does he look like my dad?" L asked his grandfather.

The old man smiled. "No. But he has the same facial features like your mother. Especially those eyes."

L looked at Levi. "Heard that! You look like my mom! What if you're my uncle?!"

"That is impossible to happen, brat." Levi retorted with a slight scowl and messed the little boy's hair. "We're not blood-related."

It didn't take them long when they left the house. It was already evening when they're walking through the paved roads of Karanese District. They were silent. The night sky was glittering with millions of stars. Petra smiled to herself as she looked up to it with admiration. She doesn't know that Levi was looking at her secretly. He was thinking but it felt like his mind was entertaining what his heart was trying to say. As they both walk together, their hands accidentally touched that made Petra looked at him. But he immediately fixed his eyes on the road ahead.

"Heichou." Petra started. She was trying to break the silence.

"Hm?" he responded.

She smiled and looked on the road that they were walking. "I wonder how it feels to die for humanity."

He looked at her. He wanted to hold both her shoulders and shake her to wake her up. He also wanted to ask her if she's going insane for bringing up that thing. It's not the perfect time to talk about dying and humanity's sake. Of course, he doesn't want to lose any of his subordinates. He already had enough lost in the past.

"Like Isabel…and L's mother." Petra added. "I mean, the former soldiers who die–"

"Petra…" Levi interrupted, "Stop. It's an order."

She halted her feet on the road. He walked passed her and realized that she wasn't following behind so he stopped and looked back to where she was. He stared at her and they were both silent. Seconds passed like everything was in slow motion.

"Are you afraid to die?" he frankly asked. He was trying to read-between-the-lines based on the context of her statements.

She dodged glances.

"Petra, are you afraid to die?" he repeated, this time his voice was louder.

'If dying means leaving you behind in this cruel world, I'd rather choose to live a thousand years.' She has in mind but she just chose to remain silent.

She finally realized that she wasn't just admiring him. That night, she realized that she needed to devote herself to him wholly. But she couldn't understand herself. Since she heard the old man's story earlier, she couldn't help but to think of the fallen soldiers from the past expeditions. What if they didn't die and the expeditions were successful? Would she be given the chance to be one of Levi Ackerman's subordinates? She formulated various questions in her mind that she knew she'll never know the answers.

"Answer me." Levi told her.

She bit her lower lip and turned her back at him. She wasn't afraid, she just couldn't stand to imagine the possible things that might happen. They both lost many important people in their lives. They both share the same grief. She has the 'what if's' but she couldn't tell him about it.

He was controlling himself not to touch her. He just stood behind her, waiting for the next few minutes to pass by. There were some civilians passing by the bridge nearby. Some were talking about the incident earlier and others were looking at them. People knew Levi but they were asking each other who Petra was. They don't know her though she's also a citizen of Karanese.

"Must be his girlfriend."

"Or one of his subordinates?"

"They look like dating. Let them savor the moment."

The people concluded. Levi gazed at them and they were silent as they disappear in sight one by one.

He tapped Petra's head and messed her hair lightly. "Come on, let's go back to the headquarters."

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter. Please review. Thank you so much.**


	14. Day-off

**Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoy this update! I'm back. A review is well appreciated. **

**If you know the NAME of the female soldier who trained Isabel on how to properly ride a horse when she joined the Survey Corps (she can be seen in Attack on Titan: A Choice with No Regrets, both manga and anime), please send me a message or kindly post it as a review. It will help a lot for the betterment of this story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.**

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**A Thug Life of Loving You**

The dawn was just breaking but most of the Survey Corps soldiers have already gone home. Of all his subordinates, only Petra remembered to leave something on Levi's table since he left the headquarters for an early morning jog around the district. When he went back to his office, he found a cup of tea and a little note beside it. The tea was still hot so he assumed that whoever left it there was not long gone. He took a quick shower first to freshen himself up, changed into a more casual set of clothes, and then he read the note that was settled on his table. It was written in Petra's handwriting.

_Thank you for everything last night. I'll see you soon. _

He wondered what had happened last night. It was nothing special, at least to him. When they got back to the headquarters, they realized that they already missed the special dinner set by the corps so they rummaged for left overs from the kitchen. When they found none, they settled with cups of tea. Everyone was on their beds but they were there, spending time with each other without anybody's presence. Petra seemed talkative as they enjoyed the tea. She shared her childhood experiences to him. He just listened. Sometimes he got her point, but most of the time he missed it. He did not want to ruin her enthusiasm of telling her story, not that he did not care, he just could not understand the reason why she was telling it to him. Maybe he was just dense, or he was so focus on his goals that he was choosing to set aside his fondness.

He smiled at the thought of last night. _Fond._ Was he fond of her? Or was he just starting to get attached?

The morning seemed to bring hope to mankind. The sunlight made its way to his windows, spreading a gorgeous light in every corner of the room. Levi held the cup of tea and sipped on it. A slight curve formed on the corner of his lips as he enjoyed the alluring taste of rare tea leaves on his tongue. He contemplated by the window of his office with the cup in his hand. For the meantime, he wanted to get rid of the struggles that he has been battling inside for the past weeks. Since it seemed to him that it would just be an ordinary, boring day, he decided to not think about some things too much. He's got no paperworks, just rest. Yes, this time he chose to rest. His subordinates have gone home to see their families. They must be happy, he thought. He could not recall the last time he felt happiness.

The upper floors of the Survey Corps headquarters were covered with an eerie silence. Levi did not know where Erwin, Hanji or Mike were hiding themselves. He knew well that those three were like him, they've got no families or a home to spend the days-off. Only few soldiers could be seen in the lobby of the first floor talking with each other. He was not the one to mingle with them so he just nodded when they greeted. He went to explore the town again. Children were playing on the streets and vendors were busy negotiating with the customers. Some ordinary citizens, who knew that he was Corporal Levi of the Survey Corps, shoot mocking glances at him, whispering at each other, while several middle class citizens, gave him warm smiles. He did not return the smiles but he nodded to them with respect. He stopped at the bridge and looked at the waters beneath. He saw his reflection: grumpy and sober. The dark shades under his narrow eyes were indication of sleepless nights.

_Sleepless nights_. The thought bothered him. He got nightmares last night. The dream was dreadful and terrible. It was another expedition beyond the walls. The corps went to search for new knowledge about the titans. But in the middle of their mission, Wall Maria was breached. It took half a day before the news reached them. They went back to help save humanity inside the walls, killing each titan on their way, but it took them another half day before they got there. It was dusk when he was able to save a bunch of young cadets. He could not remember their faces and he did not even bother to recall who they were. He was pulled back to his senses when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to look at the person beside him.

"Laila." He said with a slight surprise drawn all over his face.

She smiled. "I said what are you doing here… alone?"

"Nothing." He replied, his gaze went back to the waters.

Laila Zimmerman, commander of ninth squad, one of Erwin's former subordinate during the time of former Commander Keith Shadis. She has been a soldier even before Levi joined the Survey Corps. She was the one who properly trained Isabel on how to ride a horse during their training. She was curious about many things. She could not help but to ask Isabel about the life in the underground capital. And albeit Levi's intimidating and unapproachable attitude was human-repellant, she did not hesitate to approach him by the bridge when she saw him spacing out, staring at the waters.

She stood beside him and leaned her back on the bridge. It was an awkward silence. The gush of waters turned into a pleasant sound to Levi's ears to avoid the uncomfortable silence between him and Laila who was comfortably standing beside him.

Laila was the first to break the silence. "Don't you have a family or a friend somewhere else to visit?"

Levi looked at her, trying his best not to look so grumpy, and studied her face briefly. Innocence was drawn on her somber brown eyes. It looked like she was just asking him about the things that were running in her mind. She was always curious like Hanji. Sometimes he wanted to assume that Laila and Hanji were secret best of friends or they were relatives that has the same curious blood running on their veins.

"I don't know." He answered automatically. His eyes shifted back to the movement of the gushing waters beneath the bridge.

She faced him, arms crossed over her chest. "Now I know why Petra always visits my office."

Levi halted at the mention of Petra's name. He turned to look at her and sighed. "What do you need, Laila?" He finally asked.

"Nothing important. I'm just looking for a good company." She replied and walked pass him.

He watched her as she paced towards the end of the bridge. She was wearing a lavender dress and casual shoes. Her light brown hair was not tied in two ponytails this time. She looked like an ordinary citizen; people would not think that she's a soldier. Levi hesitated to follow her but with a sudden change of mind, he finally made his way to go with her.

"Hey. I'm sorry to hear about your subordinates." Levi started when he was able to reach her in the street. She walked fast when she left him by the bridge.

She just nodded.

They continued walking through the long paved streets with scattered busy people and vendors, passing through horse-led carriages and tall buildings. Levi did not know why the eerie silence could not leave them. It was more awkward than the time when Erwin asked him if he's already got a girlfriend and he answered him to just shave his eyebrows. They stopped in a certain tea shop where only few people spend a quiet time with teas and sweets.

"Do you often go here during days-off?" he asked Laila who was so quiet sitting across the table.

He could not discern if he offended him with his automatic answers earlier or she just became somber of the thought of her fallen subordinates. He could not blame her for having that somber expression on her eyes because all her subordinates were wiped out during their recent expedition. She must be mourning, he thought.

"I like going to tea shops." She answered plainly.

Levi scanned the place with his grey orbs. There was a comfortable atmosphere hovering in all corners of the tea shop. The tables, chairs and even the counter, walls and ceiling of the shop were made of redwood trees. The walls were decorated with small framed paintings. It was simple but he found it interesting.

'_Not bad.'_ He told to himself.

He liked it. He was always dreaming of opening his own tea shop someday.

"Can I take your orders, please?" a woman's voice caught his attention.

When he looked at the woman who was standing beside the table, he was taken aback.

"Petra!" he and Laila said in synchrony.

The woman was looking at the notepad she was holding but was surprised when she heard her name. It was indeed Petra Ral. She looked to the two soldiers who called her name.

"L-aila-san! L-levi Heichou!?" she stuttered as soon as their faces were revealed before her hazelnut orbs. She did not realized that the customers were fellow Survey Corps soldiers.

"Do you work here during days-off?" Laila asked.

Petra smiled and shook her head. "No. My cousin just asked me a favor when I got home this morning." She replied.

"I see. What do you prefer, Levi? It's my treat." Laila asked, turning to the quiet corporal.

He did not know why he felt quite anxious when Petra appeared and saw him with Laila. He thought it was awkward to be with Laila when they were walking in the streets but it appeared to be more awkward to be with her in a tea shop where Petra was working. He found the two women looking at her expectantly. They were waiting for his answer.

"What can you recommend?" he finally spoke. He could not look at Petra's eyes.

Petra thought for a moment and shoot a look at the menu in his hands. She closed the distance between them by standing behind him, slightly leaning her body closer to him, he could slightly feel her breath brushing his cheek. She smelled like lavenders.

"Hmm. I think you two should try the green tea flavored crepe and some chamomile tea. But as for you, Levi Heichou, I bet you'll also like the panini rolls." She suggested.

Levi did not know why he felt a bit disappointed when she pulled her body away from him. He actually did not like the idea of her clinginess but he also did not scold her for doing that. Perhaps she was just getting clingy to him because they were getting closer for the past weeks. He immediately shook off the thoughts that started to bother his being and focused on the present.

"Alright then. I prefer your suggestions." He said and put down the menu.

When he looked at Laila, she was simply grinning. The somber expression on her eyes seemed to shift into a teasing one.

"How about you, Laila-san?" Petra asked as she turned to face her.

"We can share." She replied. "I bet the crepe is as big as the plate."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I tried to order a crepe when we're in Stohess. It was overwhelming like a titan."

They both chuckled. Levi could not understand why women laughed at little things.

Petra wrote something on her notepad. She then repeated the orders and went to the counter to give it to her cousin.

"That was one bloody surprise." Laila told Levi, smirking. It seemed that her mourning for her fallen subordinates was set aside for the moment.

He was silent. His eyes were glued at the menu. What exactly was the taste of that green tea flavored crepe? And what was that fucking panini rolls? Petra knew a lot about foods. He did not.

It took quite a long while before their orders were served by Petra. Each layer of the crepe has a green powder; it was as big as the plate, Laila's assumption was right. Levi shoot a look at a white oval shaped breads on the other plate. And the tea that she served before him has a pleasing aroma.

"Enjoy!" Petra said happily and went back at the counter to talk to her cousin.

Laila gestured Levi to start with the crepe but he took a sip on the tea first before anything else. His eyes brightened when the alluring taste of chamomile wallowed in his mouth.

"How is it?" Laila asked, throwing a curious look.

Delicious, he wanted to say. But that was not so Ackerman to say delicious as a compliment. "Fancy." He said instead.

She chugged on her cup and sipped on it. "It tastes wonderful."

Laila enjoyed the green tea flavored crepe and ate almost one-third of it that made Levi quite surprised. He did not even expected that she could eat a whole plate of crepe. He also liked it but he enjoyed the panini rolls more since he was in the mood to eat plain and salty tasting food that morning. When they were done, Laila walked to the counter to pay. As she rummaged her wallet to get some paper bills, Levi went to pay for it.

"Wait, I'll pay. You don't have to-" Laila protested to Levi but she was cut when Petra shook her head to them.

"Don't worry about it. It's my treat to both of you."

"Oh, no. I appreciate but we have to pay because it's the first time we went here." Laila insisted, swatted Levi's hands out of the counter, and placed her paper bills before Petra and her cousin. "Thank you for the wonderful service. See you soon." She said, she almost forgot how to breathe.

She held Levi's arm tightly and tagged him swiftly out of the tea shop.

"What are you doing?" Levi asked with twitched eyebrows as he was being dragged in a nearby alley.

Laila let go of him and put her hands on her waist. "I can't believe you!" she growled.

"What?" Levi was confused.

"Are you really that dense? Didn't you see the way she looked at us? I've been waiting for you to invite her to sit with us but you didn't. I even anticipated that you-"

"You start to sound like shit glasses." Levi said with a scowl.

She sighed. "Stop comparing people. It's just too disappointing that you didn't make it. Now, she might be thinking that we're secretly dating."

'_Secretly dating... Dating... Dating...'_ the word echoed repeatedly on Levi's ears. "The hell I car-"

"You can't say that word in front of me, Levi. Now, we need to do something."

"We don't need to do anything." He retorted and started walking out of the alley, leaving her behind.

She ran to reach him and pull his sleeve.

"I know just what to do." Laila said and waggled her eyebrows.

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It was dusk and Levi found himself standing before a picket fence until a goat chewed the edge of his pants.

"What the fuck am I doing here?" he asked.

Laila stood before him and raised her arms open in the air excitedly. "Welcome to Ral residence where the only female member of the Special Operations Squad lives. May the goddesses of the walls be with you, Corporal Levi." She said, patting his shoulder, and rode her horse as swift as the wind. Before he could open his mouth, she was gone.

He did not exactly know why Laila brought him there. He could not understand her point. She was like Hanji, easy to get along with, though sometimes annoying with their twisty plans, but difficult to understand. That morning when she pulled his sleeves and said that she knew what to do, they went back to the headquarters to get their horses. They toured the whole Karanese District and though it was boring to see mocking faces of people who recognized him, he slightly enjoyed touring around, knowing that it was Petra's hometown. He was just a bit surprised when they reached a rural part of the district where several hills could be seen nearby, and he learned that it was the place where Petra lives. His horse was happily eating the grass, creating some air of camaraderie with the goats. Levi sighed and looked around. The sun was setting beyond the walls and he wondered why he let himself be a victim of Laila's schemes.


End file.
